SWAZILAND UNIONS CALL OFF PROTESTS

Swazi Observer

31 October 2011

SOURCE

Unions call off protest action

IN light of a court order obtained by government, unions have called off the protest march which was scheduled for tomorrow (1 November 2011) until Saturday.

Instead, the executive of all the labour unions; Swaziland National Association of Teachers, Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions as well as Swaziland Federation of Labour would deliver petitions to the High Court and the ministry of labour.

Secretary General of the Labour Coordinating Council, Muzi Mhlanga said they received a court order yesterday, which was brought by police officers.

Mhlanga was responding to Minister of Labour and Social Security, Lutfo Dlamini’s statement, where he pleaded with the unions to respect the court order which was issued on Friday.

Organised labour wanted to march over the delay by government to address the judicial crisis, the failure to address workers’ concerns on the tender board processes as well as what unions termed “relocation” of Tibiyo and Tisuka TakaNgwane.

The minister said: “I wish to strongly advise workers not to participate in the upcoming protest action. It is unlawful and, therefore, not protected. Each worker should consider the implications of such an unlawful action.”

The minister spoke during a press conference, which he called yesterday afternoon.

Dlamini stated that the employers were also advised about the ruling of the court. He said if unions would defy the court order it would mean there was no rule of law.

The court order reads: “The intended protest action cannot be referred to as protected or lawful if the requirements of Section 40 have not been complied with.

The effect of the court order of October 28th, 2011 is that the respondents are interdicted or barred from going on with the intended protest action until the Labour Advisory Board properly constituted in terms of the Industrial Relations Act, 2000 (as amended) attends to the issues referred to it respondents within seven working days mentioned in the court order of the 28th October 2011.”

…Instead, they call night vigil for tonight

LABOUR has called a mass prayer which is expected to be held at the Roman Catholic Church in Mbabane tonight.

Secretary General of the Labour Coordinating Council, Muzi Mhlanga said everyone was welcome to the prayer.

He said after this, the executive of the, Swaziland National Association of Teachers, Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions as well as Swaziland Federation of Labour would deliver a petition to the High Court and the ministry of labour.

Some of the things the unions are complaining about are; government’s continued inability to meet the demand for the relocation of Tibiyo TakaNgwane and TisukaTakaNgwane, the judicial crisis and the failure by government to address the workers’ concerns on the tender board and the processes.

However, Mhlanga said they had since withdrawn the issue of the tender board because the ministry was still engaging them on it.

Unions had called a mass protest from tomorrow until Saturday but government acquired a court order which stopped the march. Civil society was expected to participate in the march.
Mhlanga said every member of the public was welcome at the mass prayer, which is expected to be held tonight until tomorrow morning.

Unions’ grievances not receivable – Lutfo

THE grievances submitted to the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) were not receivable and were thus rejected.

This was because workers did not mention any steps they had taken to solve the issues before embarking on a protest.

The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Lutfo Dlamini in a press conference yesterday said “the Labour Advisory Board at its meeting rejected all the notices, stating that they did not meet the key requirements of Section 40.”

The issues the unions wanted to march over included the delay by government in addressing the judicial crisis, failure to address workers’ concerns on the tender board and the processes and government’s inability to meet the “relocation” of Tibiyo and Tisuka TakaNgwane.

The minister said they were willing to meet the unions and discuss these issues with them.
He mentioned that the Minister of Justice and Constitutional affairs, Mgwagwa Gamedze was addressing the issue of the judicial crisis.

“Let the minister deal with this issue until such time that he says he has failed then we can involve ourselves,” said the minister.

Dlamini also noted that in a meeting the Labour Advisory Board had recently with the unions, a non-gazetted member was present.

He said the workers stated that this was an alternate member. “Our view as government is that the tripartite structure has joint custody of all employment and industrial relations regulations. To have a partner in the structure deliberately defeating the effective operations of such an important structure as the Labour Advisory Board brings to question the good faith that the partner brings to such a meeting,” said the minister.

The Secretary General of the Labour Coordinating Council, Muzi Mhlanga said the member did not know they were going to meet the Labour Advisory Board.

See also

SWAZI GOVT TRIES TO STOP MASS PROTESTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/10/swazi-govt-tries-to-stop-mass-protests.html

SWAZI COURT HALTS MASS PROTEST

Times of Swaziland

31 October 2011

SOURCE

Court stops unions protest action

MBABANE - The Industrial Court has issued an order stopping labour unions from proceeding with the protest action which was to begin tomorrow (1 November 2011).

The order, which was issued on Saturday, clarifies another order which had been issued on October 28, 2011, when the court had ruled that the unions should meet with the Labour Advisory Board within seven days to discuss the three issues they had submitted to the board.

The unions, after this ruling, indicated that they were to proceed with their protest action as the judge did not expressly interdict them from continuing with the protest action.

This prompted government to go back to court to seek clarity on the conflicting interpretations of the ruling. Industrial Court Judge Nkosinathi Nkonyane clarified the ruling by stating that;

"The effect of the court order of October 28, 2011 is that the respondents are interdicted or barred from going on with the intended protest action until the Labour Advisory Board properly constituted in terms of the Industrial Relations Act attends to the issues referred to it by the respondents within seven working days mentioned in the court order of October 28, 2011."

The order also states that the intended protest action cannot be referred to as ‘protected’ or ‘lawful’ if the requirements of Section 40 have not been complied with. Furthermore, in a matter in which government was represented by Tholi Vilakati, with no appearance from the unions, the judge ruled that the order was to be served on the respondents yesterday, between 7am and 7pm.

Service of the order was to be made on the respondents wherever they may be found and police were to assist in the service of the order.

The respondents in this matter are the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFL) and the Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFTU).

The Minister of Labour and Social Security Lutfo Dlamini advised workers not to participate in the proposed protest action, as it is unlawful and not protected.

He said each worker should consider the implications of such an unlawful action.

Dlamini added that if the protest action was to proceed after the order of the court, it would mean there is lawlessness in the country, as orders of the court are not adhered to. He also urged the unions to help give the justice minister a chance to solve the judicial crisis.

See also

SWAZI GOVT TRIES TO STOP MASS PROTESTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/10/swazi-govt-tries-to-stop-mass-protests.html

COURT FAILS TO STOP SWAZI PROTEST

AFP

4 September 2011

SOURCE

Court bid to stop Swazi protests

The Swaziland government has sought a court injunction to block a week of planned pro-democracy protests in a country were political parties are banned.

Unions said the demonstrations would go ahead across the country as part of a "Global Week of Action for Swaziland," stepping up pressure for democratic reform on King Mswati III.

Trade Unions, the only organisations legally allowed to hold demonstrations, said the government had launched a last minute injunction at the Industrial Court on Saturday.

The court ruled that the unions had to remove certain grievances from their list of demands, including a call to scrap generous perks for politicians, but the unions said they would go ahead with the protests.

The head of Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions, Barnes Dlamini, said: ""This time around we are not stopping.

"Once we hit the streets nobody is going to stop us from saying what we want to say."

The protests come as South Africa is poised to sign a controversial $343m bailout to help ease a crippling financial crisis in the kingdom.

Political parties have been banned in Swaziland since 1973 and Mswati holds ultimate executive, legislative and judicial power.

The demonstrations are being organised by a coalition of pro-democracy movements known as the Swaziland Democracy Campaign.

To read the full AFP report, click here.

CALL TO SUPPORT SWAZI STUDENTS

Swaziland Solidarity Network

Statement

31 August 2011

SOURCE

SSN urges all Swazis to protest over student allowances

The Swaziland Solidarity Network would like to urge all its solidarity partners to protest against the Swaziland government’s very bizarre decision to reduce tertiary students’ allowances by 60%.

This decision is bizarre because for many years the students in the country have been protesting that the allowances given to them no longer sustained them due to the fact that they were never adjusted annually to cater for inflation.

With the current fiscal crisis, the government has not only ignored the students’ please for an increase in their allowances but has reduced them to an amount that effectively makes it impossible for most students to continue with their studies.

Most students in Swaziland come from very poor backgrounds where their tertiary education is the only hope of them escaping the cycle of poverty. Such students are known to use the little allowances that they get from the Swazi government to help their younger siblings through school and to help them with their living expenses.

With the cut in student’s allowances, the Swazi government is effectively raising saying that only those students who come from well to do families will be able to afford to have tertiary education.

The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) has already taken a lead in this matter by planning a protest action on Friday, the 2nd of September. We urge all other organizations to join in this protest in order to let the students’ voices be heard.

Issued By the Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN]