UN-UNIONISED CIVIL SERVANTS TO ALSO GET 4% COLA

MBABANE – Warders, police officers, head teachers, politicians and senior government officials, yesterday signed a four per cent cost-of living-adjustment (CoLA).

This comes after the Eswatini Principals Association (EPA) National Executive Committee (NEC) signed a collective agreement on behalf of their members, who are un-unionised civil servants. Subsequent to the signing by EPA, this means that all civil servants in the country will receive the four per cent CoLA. There are about 43 751 public service workers in the country. The Government Negotiating Team (GNT) had offered a three per cent CoLA for the 2024/2025 financial year, while EPA on the other hand submitted a demand of four per cent plus a one per cent once-off CoLA. Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service Sipho Tsabedze confirmed that they had signed the agreement with EPA.

Implementing

Tsabedze said they would now be implementing following the agreement reached by both the Public Service Unions (PSUs) of Swaziland and EPA, adding that a circular would soon be issued. The PS stated that if all goes well, they were hoping that all civil servants would receive their increment this month, which will be backdated to April 1, 2024. In an interview with EPA Secretary General (SG) Mduduzi Masilela, he stated that they had to adjourn negotiations over the one per cent once-off, pending the GNT consultative process with its principals.
Masilela stated that the GNT thereafter assured that the application of the adjustment would be in July 2024 and backdated to April 1, 2024.

Asked if they were happy with the offer, Masilela said after considering critical factors like the erosion of the buying power and the escalating prices of basic commodities and services, the four per cent was the least they could settle for, because they have not been getting anything for the past years as government was supposed to implement the salary review in 2021, as per the July 6 order of the court. This has not happened to date, causing the workers to suffer more.  

According to Masilela, the demand for the one per cent once-off was testimony of EPA’s effort to cushion members on the inflation margin given what had been offered. The signing of the collective agreement by all parties involved came after the PSUs last week, demanded 7.2 per cent. PSUs and the GNT had two sittings for CoLA, while EPA and the employer signed the agreement after one sitting.

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