Police in Swaziland blocked
a workers’ protest against poor labour conditions in the kingdom.
Members of the Trade Union
Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) tried to march to deliver a petition of
complaints to Winnie Magagula, the Minister of Labour and Social Security.
Local media reported on
Tuesday (28 February 2017) that police blocked the march close to the ministry
by forming a line in the road.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, who
rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported, ‘This
was done in a bid to protect the officials from the labour ministry, who were
to receive a petition that was to be delivered by TUCOSWA.’
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the
kingdom, reported, ‘The list of issues that the union wants government to
address include; severance allowance, national minimum wage, amendments to the
public enterprises, elimination of precarious employment and the inclusion of
domestic workers as members of the SNPF and ratification of the ILO convention
189 on domestic workers.’
The Times
reported, ‘According to the union’s Secretary General, Vincent Ncongwane, ever
since the union engaged government in 2013 on the matter of national minimum
wage, nothing has been done whereas this was a current discussion
internationally. Therefore, the union wants the minister to write to the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and request for a study to be done on
the subject matter in Swaziland. Ncongwane said even though the union had done
its study and found that the national minimum wage should be E3,500 (US$270), the
minister should request for ILO’s findings as well.’
Assistant Commissioner of
Labour Sipho Maseko later received the petition.
In 2015, Swaziland was
named as among the worst ten countries in the world for workers’ rights in a report published by the International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
See also
KINGDOM
ONE OF WORST IN WORLD FOR WORKERS
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/06/kingdom-in-top-ten-worst-for-workers.html
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