Africa-Press – Eswatini. Unlike last month where there was a change of heart and the no-work-no-pay rule was not implemented during the two-day public transport shutdown, this time government has said it would ensure that all absent employees this week were disciplined.
This was during the two-day public transport shutdown, which continued despite government obtaining a court order stopping the stay way by public transport workers.
Government also provided alternative transport at no cost to commuters.
Government deployed transportation to ferry people to their destinations which included work, schools and hospitals, an act which was described by the acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku as a component of Plan B, intended to avert the national shutdown.
Within the two days, there was minimal activity within government offices as a number of employees did not report to work even though transport was provided in most parts of the country. The Minister of Public Service, Mabulala Maseko, said civil servants had no excuse for failing to report to their workstations, as government announced the availability of transport.
The minister said they would use every available legislation to discipline civil servants who did not report to work in the past two days, and also effect the no-work-no-pay rule.
He said discipline would be prioritised within government institutions. Maseko said some of the civil servants decided not to report to their workstations yet they stayed in government institutional houses, closer to their stations.
“Some are housed by government and transport was there but they simply decided against what was being said by their employer,” he said. According to the minister, employees who were unable to report to work due to different challenges were expected to report to their immediate supervisors, not to decide on their own. “If you had a challenge with transport, who did you report to that you are facing challenges,” he enquired.
Further, he said government issued a toll free line 112 used to report the unavailability of transport. When asked about the previous shutdown when government planned to implement no-work-no-pay rule on absent employees, the minister said they suspended it because there was no transport provided to assist workers to get to their respective workstations.
“It was understandable then but this time, things have changed, buses are available around the country,” he said. The minister emphasised that government employees had to report to their work places at all times.
He said he was surprised to learn that some people would lament about the unavailability of transport yet hawkers were available in the different towns, selling their goods, adding that some people walked to their workstations because they respect their jobs. “When they apply for jobs, they arrive the previous day for interviews but once they are hired by government, people complain, which is not right,” Maseko said.
He urged government employees to respect their jobs at all times and thanked those who reported to work. Maseko stated that in most government offices, there was activity, which meant that people loved their jobs and it was commendable despite the current situation.
National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) said they were prepared to go to court should government continue to discipline their members for not reporting to work over the past two days.
Victimised
NAPSAWU President, Oscar Nkambule, said they would not allow their members to be victimised, adding that they were ready to challenge the matter because government exposed workers to dangerous situations.
Nkambule said government deliberately exposed the nation to danger despite the provision of alternative transport because most of the vehicles provided were driven by armed security personnel.
He said these were the same security personnel accused of being responsible for allegedly shooting a number of employees who were on their way to work.
“How will you board a bus driven by soldiers who are heavily armed? This was not an easy task,” Nkambule stated. He further said most of the bus drivers allegedly did not possess the right requisites to be able to qualify to drive for members of the public.
“They were driving without public permits adding to the already existing danger and the buses did not have fitness certificates,” he said. Nkambule stated that a number of people do not reside in the Mbabane-Manzini corridor, which lessened their chances of being able to report to work. He said instead, government assumed that its employees stayed within the Mbabane-Manzini path.
Meanwhile the Swaziland National Association of Teachers Secretary General, Lot Vilakati, said the ministers statement must cut across from senior officials as they also did not report to their workstations.
Vilakati said government employees rely on public transport as they do not have enough money to buy vehicles. “If there is no public transport, we will not come to work,” Vilakati stated. When probed about the deployment of government vehicles as alternative transport, Vilakati said government employees based in rural areas were not considered in the arrangement.
He said the buses were organised for urban areas yet a number of people commute from rural areas. “The buses were arranged for the major highways and they failed to consider someone from deep rural areas who needed to commute before connecting a major road.
We do not stay in Manzini or Mbabane,” Vilakati said.
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