BOARDER OPERATIONS THREATS AS IMMIGRATION OFFICERS TO DELIVER PETITION

MBABANE - Services at various border gates across the country may be disrupted today as immigration officers plan to deliver a petition to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The officers are demanding payment for unpaid overtime dating back to 2015. The delivery of the petition to the Ministry of Public Service emanates from unpaid overtime due to the immigration officers dating back to 2015. A source revealed that all the affected immigration officers were intending to attend the delivery of the petition, which might result in the disruption of services at the ports of entry.

Dragging

This is a matter that has been dragging on for years, so much that a motion was raised in Parliament in November last year, where Mhlangatane Member of Parliament Madala Mhlanga moved that the Minister for Public Service, Mabulala Maseko, give a more detailed and comprehensive report before the House on the progress made by the ministry in addressing or resolving the continued impasse existing between the immigration officers and government with regards to the overdue unpaid overtime that government owes to the workers.National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) Mbabane Branch Chairperson Sanele Magagula revealed that they have invited all affected workers to the delivery of the petition and he did not deny that services might be halted.

Magagula narrated that immigration officers had a mass meeting last month held at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre, where they resolved that due to the matter not coming to finality, they should deliver a petition to the Ministry of Public Service. He revealed that they then wrote to the ministry requesting that a bilateral meeting be held on the matter, but the ministry responded, requesting that the bilateral be halted as it was busy with budgeting. “We respected their request and withdrew the exercise to go and deliver the petition. Early January, we wrote to the ministry, reminding it that we respected their request last month noting that they were busy with budgeting, but we now wish to have the bilateral. To the present day, the ministry has not responded to our second letter,” narrated Magagula.

He said the delivery of the petition, which compels government to finalise the matter, would be delivered only at the Ministry of Public Service, because the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the parent ministry of the immigration officers, was no longer part of the matter. He said the delivery of the petition was not limited to a few individuals, but it was open to all the affected employees.

Reluctant

“All we wanted was to reach an amicable decision on the matter with the ministry, but they are seemingly reluctant to see the matter through, hence we have invited every affected immigration officer to come and see the petition being delivered,” he said. NAPSAWU President Bawinile Ndlovu also confirmed that their members intend on delivering the petition this morning. She said that usually, when their members intend on delivering a petition, they seek the company of the union to their intended destination, but it was not the case this time around. “They requested to handle it themselves because this was a matter that has dragged on for far too long. All that we will do as a union is to ensure that all is done in line with the law,” she said.

During the debate on the motion in Parliament in early November last year, Mayiwane MP Sicelo Dlamini said it was concerning that civil servants from different government sectors were bothered by the same issue, that of being owed overtime. He submitted that head teachers were also owed overtime dating back to 2016 and the matter would be in Parliament soon; junior police officers were owed their phase II payment dating back to 2014. “One wonders what the 10th Parliament (2013-2018) was doing because all these unpaid monies are dating back to that period. It is very concerning that no one can come forward and confidently declare to have been paid by government to his or her satisfaction; all we come across are complaints about unpaid monies. We know the incumbent minister to be a dedicated servant, let it all end with him,” he said at the time.

Demanded

In August last year, this publication reported that the immigration employees demanded to be paid E40 million owed to them in overtime or they shut down borders.
The issue of the payment of overtime to civil servants was previously discussed in Parliament by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), during the appearance of government ministries, to respond to audit queries that were noted by the auditor general (AG) in financial audit reports on the Consolidated Government Accounts for the Kingdom of Eswatini. What surprised the PAC was that some employees claimed up to E28 000 overtime and some forms indicated that other employees worked for up to 24 hours.  The PAC members said the claims were suspicious and needed to be investigated.

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