UK UNIONS SUPPORT SWAZI ACTION

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the UK is to join the Global Day of Action for Swaziland.

The TUC and ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa) will be joining trade unionists around the world to show solidarity with unions in Swaziland.

The TUC says poverty and feudalism in Swaziland, which is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, ‘are sustained by a dictatorship where unions are heavily restricted and activists are harassed, arrested and worse. Now, the Government wants to stop trade unionism from existing in the public services.’

In response, the TUC and ACTSA are organising activities on Tuesday 7 September as part of Swaziland Democracy Day, which unions around the world will be marking. The aim is to mobilise support for democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in Swaziland, and oppose the Public Services Bill.

A series of mass protest activities and civil disobedience are planned in action organised by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign, in collaboration with labour and civil society partners.

It runs from 6 – 8 September 2010, around the time of the Swazi Independence Day on 6 September 2010.