UK UNIONS BACK SWAZI RIGHTS CAMPAIGN

Over the past 18 months, Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) has received support from UNISON to build international support for human rights and democracy in Swaziland, the UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) reported.

ACTSA organised and hosted a visit to the UK by Vincent Ncongwane, the then Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), in March 2015. 

The TUC reported, ‘Vincent met with the then Minister for Africa and senior officials at the Commonwealth Secretariat, as well as with a wide range of civil society organisations, including trade unions. Vincent was able to use these meetings to stress the need for the UK and Commonwealth to step up their engagement with the Government of Swaziland so that it fulfils its international obligations. He also called on bilateral and multilateral agencies to more actively support the work of Swazi civil society.’

ACTSA has produced a range of campaign materials. Most recently, ACTSA has published a new briefing paper Swaziland’s Downward Spiral: The International Community Must Act Now. The paper warns that Swaziland may plunge into a protracted crisis unless the international community, including the UK, applies serious pressure on the Government of Swaziland so that it respects human rights and develops a genuinely democratic constitution. UNISON and other UK trade unionists have also been supportive of the development of a Swazi Rural Women’s Charter, which is discussed in another new ACTSA publication Women’s Rights in Swaziland. 

The paper reported that King Mswati III, the absolute monarch in Swaziland, was one of the main reasons why women in the kingdom remain oppressed. ACTSA reported that despite claims that Swaziland was a modern country, ‘the reality is, despite pledges and commitments, women continue to suffer discrimination, are treated as inferior to men, and are denied rights.’

ACTSA added, ‘The King has demonstrated he is unwilling to change the status quo and promotes multiple aspects of the patriarchal society.’

In a separate report, ACTSA called on the international community to apply serious pressure on the Government of Swaziland so that it respects human rights and develops a genuinely democratic constitution. 

The absolute monarch King Mswati III is due to become the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August 2016 while his government continues to violate human rights with impunity. In its report published in June 2016), ACTSA warned that Swaziland might plunge into a protracted crisis unless African governments, as well as bilateral and multilateral donors, vigorously and consistently engage with the Government of Swaziland so that it genuinely protects and serves all of its citizens.

See also

KING ‘TO BLAME’ FOR WOMEN’S INEQUALITY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/07/king-to-blame-for-womens-inequality.html

 

CALL FOR GLOBAL PRESSURE ON SWAZI GOVT

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/06/call-for-global-pressure-on-govt.html

POLICE RAID TO STOP UNION MEETING

Swaziland police and paramilitaries broke into a hotel room where an inquiry into trade union rights was taking place and ordered it to stop.

The police then ordered all participants who were not Swazi subjects to leave the kingdom.

The South African labour federation COSATU reported the raid happened this morning (6 September 2013) at the George Hotel in Manzini.

COSATU reported the Swazi Police stopped the Chair of the inquiry, Jay Naidoo and his fellow paneliststs from proceeding with the Inquiry.

It said in a statement, ‘A contingent of Swazi police and paramilitary led by Manzini Regional Police Commander entered the hotel room where the inquiry is being held and demanded that the chair of the Inquiry, Jay Naidoo and the whole panel stop and pack all their belongings and leave Swaziland.

‘It is expected that they shall be deported anytime soon.’

It added, ‘The inquiry is an initiative of the ITUC [International Trade Union Confederation], TUCOSWA [Trade Union Congress  of Swaziland] and COSATU to hear workers’ accounts of their experiences and sufferings in order compile a report to be taken to the ILO [International Labour organisation] for the Committee on the Application of International Standards.’

The panel was part of a Global Week of Action for Democracy in Swaziland.

COSATU said the panellists were Jay Naidoo, former General Secretary of COSATU and former Minister under the Mandela Presidency; Bishop Paul Verryn of the Methodist Chruch and South African Council of Churches and anti-apartheid activist; Alec Muchadehama, Human Rights lawyer and activist from Zimbabwe; Ms Nomthetho Simelane, former lecturer of Political Science at the University of Swaziland; together with COSATU delegate Monk Molapeni.

It added the raid followed the arrest at his office of the Secretary General of TUCOSWA, Vincent Ncongwane, yesterday morning by 10 police officers from the Lukhozi Serious Crime Police in Manzini.

He was later placed under house arrest to prevent him taking part in a prodemocracy march in the Swaziland capital, Mbabane.

COSATU said, ‘They [police] emphasised that the reason is that TUCOSWA is banned in Swaziland and therefore an illegal entity.’

Various trade unions all over the world are staging activities in support of TUCOSWA and the global week of action led by the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) and its campaign wing, the Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC).

In the UK, the TUC yesterday met the Swazi High Commission in London and raised these issues decisively, demanding the unconditional release of all those arrested and the unbanning of TUCOSWA.

See also

MASS POLICE ARRESTS TO HALT MEETING

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/09/mass-police-arrests-to-halt-meeting.html

UNION ATTACK: ‘SUSPEND SWAZILAND’

The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for Swaziland to be suspended from the Commonwealth after the Swazi Government deregistered the only trade union federation in the kingdom.

The TUC protested to the Swazi High Commissioner in London and the Commonwealth Secretary General, after news broke that the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), which was formed last month (March 2012), had been deregistered by the government amid suspicions the move was in retaliation for the federation’s public stance on the need for democratic reforms in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

TUCOSWA is also due to play a leading part in mass protests for democracy in Swaziland planned for this Thursday (12 April 2012).

In a statement the TUC said, ‘General Secretary Brendan Barber has protested to the Swazi High Commissioner in London, as well as to the Commonwealth Secretary General, reiterating the Commonwealth Trade Union Group’s demand that Swaziland be suspended from the Commonwealth for human and trade union rights abuses.’

The TUC is joined by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in calling for Swaziland to be suspended from the Commonwealth.

In a letter to the Swazi High Commissioner, the TUC said the deregistration undermined the Swaziland Government’s ‘attempts to persuade the international community that reform is underway. We are sure that the International Labour Organisation's Committee on Freedom of Association will add this to the charge sheet against your Government at the ILO Conference this summer.’

It added the deregulation breached the ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association.

The letter continued. ‘While the government has in recent years done some efforts to convince the ILO of its goodwill, e.g. by accepting ILO missions on Swazi territory as well as ILO assistance to amend its legislation, this is yet another illustration of how serious it really is about implementing Convention 87.

‘The ITUC is appalled by this latest disruption of the Swazi trade union movement and by its cynical argumentation, which it protests and denounces in the strongest possible terms.

‘We demand that the deregistration of TUCOSWA to be immediately and unconditionally repealed, and for the Swazi government to stop interfering in internal union affairs and to respect Convention 87, which it has ratified.’

See also

SWAZILAND GOVERNMENT ATTACKS TRADE UNIONS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/union-congress-deregistered.html

UNION ATTACK: FULL TUC STATEMENT

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/union-attack-full-tuc-statement.html

UNIONS: LETTER TO COMMONWEALTH

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/unions-letter-to-commonwealth.html

UNION ATTACK: LETTER TO SWAZI HC

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/union-attack-letter-to-swazi-hc.html

UNION ATTACK: FULL TUC STATEMENT

Statement from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), UK, following the deregistration of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA).

7 April 2012

Ahead of a day of action by Swazi democrats and trade unionists on 12 April, the TUC has joined international trade union protests at the deregistration of the newly merged Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), which held its founding conference only a month ago. General Secretary Brendan Barber has protested to the Swazi High Commissioner in London, as well as to the Commonwealth Secretary General, reiterating the Commonwealth Trade Union Group's demand that Swaziland be suspended from the Commonwealth for human and trade union rights abuses.

Background

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has issued the following briefing about the situation in Swaziland.

The trade union movement in this small Southern African country is struggling to survive under one of the last remaining absolute monarchies in the world.

Swaziland has the highest HIV infection rate in the world. Sixty-three percent of its population lives under the poverty line and gets by on less than $1.25 a day. King Mswati III, however, lives in abundant wealth: in July 2010, Forbes Magazine estimated his personal fortune at 100 million USD. His daughters take his private jet to go shopping in Europe.

Meanwhile, everyday life in Swaziland is marked by serious violations of democratic, human and trade union rights. These include extrajudicial killings by security forces, mob killings, the use of torture by the police, beatings and the use of excessive force on detainees, police impunity, arbitrary arrests and lengthy pre-trial detentions, restrictions on freedom of assembly, association and movement, prohibitions on political activity and harassment of political activists, discrimination and violence against women, the harassment of labour leaders, and restrictions on workers' rights.

Swaziland has been ruled under a state of emergency for 39 years now, since King Mswati's father and predecessor, Sobhuza II, issued his Proclamation to serve as the country's fundamental law on 12 April 1973, thereby establishing what has become known as the Tinkhundla regime. The international trade union movement has, time and again, denounced the incessant violations of trade union rights under the king's harsh rule.

To date, political parties remain forbidden, in spite of the adoption of a new Constitution in 2005, which in itself is still highly ineffective in preserving fundamental democratic rights, including trade union rights. Trade union activities are systematically labelled as political and then severely repressed. This sadly culminated in the death of Sipho Jele, a trade union activist who was arrested for wearing a T-shirt from a political party at a 2010 May Day celebration, and who subsequently died in police custody in suspicious circumstances.

On numerous occasions, the Swazi government has been called to account for this state of affairs in international bodies, such as the International Labour Organisation's Committee on the Application of Standards (ILO CAS). This Committee has exposed the Swazi government, for a number of years in a row now, for serious breaches of workers' rights as enshrined in ILO Convention 87 (on Freedom of Association). It is one of the rare cases in which the workers find an ally in the employers' federations, who are equally fed up with the undemocratic arbitrariness of the regime.

In spite of all the circumstances, our Swazi trade union colleagues have upheld the struggle for fundamental workers' rights. Through the admirable and internationally recognised work of the Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL) and the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), the workers of Swaziland have had a voice and representatives who took their interests to heart. In a development which was closely followed and warmly encouraged by the international trade union movement, the SFTU and the SFL, together with the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), undertook to merge into one unified, strong national trade union centre: the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA). This new organisation, with an estimated membership of 50,000, held its first congress on 9-11 March 2012.

However, the serious failure by the Swazi regime to implement Convention 87 has now come to a new all-time low: it decided to repeal TUCOSWA's registration. This was communicated to them by the Attorney General, who wrote to TUCOSWA to say that he would advise the Labour Commissioner to withdraw it.

In a meeting with the Labour Commissioner on Thursday 5 April, which was adjourned due to a number of fundamental disagreements, it was confirmed to our TUCOSWA colleagues that the organisation would be deregistered. The Labour Commissioner repeated the argument of the Attorney General, ie that there are no provisions in Swazi law that regulate the merging of different trade union organisations, and that the law had therefore to be amended before TUCOSWA could be registered as a trade union (sic). She actually went as far as to say that the law doesn't even contain provisions on the registration of national federations, which by implication now also threatens the Swazi employers' federation.

While the government has in recent years done some efforts to convince the ILO of its goodwill, e.g. by accepting ILO missions on Swazi territory as well as ILO assistance to amend its legislation, this is yet another illustration of how serious it really is about implementing Convention 87. The ITUC is appalled by this latest disruption of the Swazi trade union movement and by its cynical argumentation, which it protests and denounces in the strongest possible terms. We demand that the deregistration of TUCOSWA to be immediately and unconditionally repealed, and for the Swazi government to stop interfering in internal union affairs and to respect Convention 87, which it has ratified.

Thursday 12 April 2012 will mark the 39th anniversary of the Tinkhundla. We can no longer stand by and watch the rights of our fellow workers in Swaziland being trampled on day after day. The ITUC thinks it is time the regime understands that it can't get away with everything. The international community must convey the message to the government of Swaziland that the country will have to unambiguously choose the path of democracy, and provide the basic conditions for the full respect of the fundamental rights of its people.

Traditionally, 12 April will also be marked by actions from civil society organisations, who seize the occasion to demand for the establishment of a fully-fledged democracy. We fear, however, that Swaziland will once again be the scene of disproportionate repression and police violence. To avoid another dramatic outcome like on May Day 2010, when a trade union activist was killed, we urge the Swazi government to refrain from this kind of excessive violence, and respects the right of workers to peacefully gather and demonstrate.

See also

UNION ATTACK: ‘SUSPEND SWAZILAND’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/union-attack-suspend-swaziland.html

SWAZILAND GOVERNMENT ATTACKS TRADE UNIONS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/union-congress-deregistered.html

UNIONS: LETTER TO COMMONWEALTH

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/unions-letter-to-commonwealth.html

UNION ATTACK: LETTER TO SWAZI HC

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/union-attack-letter-to-swazi-hc.html

TUC: BUILDING UNIONS IN SWAZILAND

The Swazi trade union movement is emerging as an important player in the campaign to promote democracy, good governance and the rule of law and has strengthened its capacity to lead civil society and engage with the Government on crucial issues affecting the Swazi people. The formation of the Trades Union Congress of Swaziland following a merger between the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) and Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL) on 1 May 2010 has paved the way for a united trade union front vis-à-vis the Government, employers and other stakeholders.

A training and education initiative funded by the TUC (UK), under the Partnership Programme Agreement (PPA) implemented in partnership with the International Research Academy for Labour and Education (IRALE) was instrumental in raising the profile of the trade union movement in Swaziland through capacity-building. The Project has the twin objective of enhancing the ability of the Swazi trade union movement to educate, organise and represent workers, especially, in the textile, commercial and retail sectors and of building the IRALE capacity to fulfil its role more effectively and efficiently. The initiative is part of the TUC's contribution to the efforts by trade unionists in Swaziland to promote the Decent Work Agenda and Democracy. Some 282 trade union officials from 26 trade unions have so far benefited from the TUC project.

To read the full briefing paper on this initiative from the TUC, click here