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Sunday 22 September 2019

Public servants across Swaziland set to strike over pay

Public servants across Swaziland / eSwatini are set to strike for three days starting Monday (23 September 2019) in a long-running campaign over pay.

Workers want a 7.8 percent cost-of-living adjustments but the government says it is broke and cannot pay anything.

The standoff has seen a number of marches on government in recent days in which petitions were delivered to ministries. Petitions were also delivered to regional administration offices and regional education offices across the kingdom which is ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch.

The unions involved under the umbrella of the Public Sector Associations (PSA) include the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Swaziland National Association of Civil Servants (SNACS), Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA), and Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).  

The nurses cannot take part in the strike as they are considered an essential service under Swazi law.

Public servants have not been awarded a Cost of Living Adjustment for the past three years. Unions say prices have risen by 19.9 percent in that time.

See also

Swaziland Industrial Court paves way for public servants to strike legally
Swaziland public servants prepare for pay strike amid fears of renewed police violence against them

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