Africa-Press – Eswatini. Government’s decision to postpone the Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) meetings for two consecutive occasions is not a delaying tactic or disrespect to public sector unions (PSUs).
Explaining the postponements amid concerns from the unions that government was disrespecting them, Ministry of Public Service Principal Secretary, Sipho Tsabedze, said the Government Negotiations Team (GNT) did not form a quorum.
Tsabedze, who also acts as the Chairperson of the JNF, requested for the postponement of the meeting due to non-availability of the GNT.
He proposed that the meeting be held on Wednesday next week at 10am at the ministry’s conference room. The meeting was initially scheduled for Friday last week.
This was the second time the JNF meeting was being postponed in a month. This comes after the PSUs said this was indicative that government did not consider civil servants issues a priority and further accused it of disrespecting them over the constant postponement of the meetings.
The JNF is made up of the GNT and PSUs, which consist of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), the National Public Services and Allied Workers Union(NAPSAWU), Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP) and Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU).
Explaining the postponement, Tsabedze said this was a normal act as the GNT did not form a quorum.
He said as government, they were not being disrespectful as the rules were clear that without a quorum, the meetings would not proceed.
“We were mindful of the fact that we do not form a quorum and the meeting will not take place.
We did not want them to come yet knowing that the meeting will not take place without the quorum,” Tsabedze said. He stated that they wanted the next meeting to be held on Wednesday this week but due to the Cabinet retreat, it was shifted to next week Wednesday.
Meanwhile, NAPSAWU Secretary General, Thulani Hlatshwayo, said the constant postponements delayed progress of the issues on the negotiation table. Hlatshwayo said government does not respect them as PSUs and as civil servants.
According to Hlatshwayo, government failed to prioritise employees issue, thus the constant postponements of their meetings where issues affecting civil servants were deliberated.
He stated that they had crucial matters on the table, which needed urgent deliberations, which include salary review updates and appeals.
“They keep postponing the meetings which shows that they do not respect us and they do not care about our wellbeing,” Hlatshwayo said.
He stated that the financial year was already compromised as a result of the postponements because as PSUs, they expected some matters to be addressed on the current financial year.
“The salary review exercise is an urgent matter and we need updates but government does not care about the consequences of these delays. They treat this as normal scenario yet we are affected,” he said.
SNAT Secretary General, Lot Vilakati, shared the same sentiments saying the postponement was systematic because government did not want to implement the salary review exercise on the current financial year. Vilakati said government did not prioritise civil servants’ issues as it kept on running away from issues that would benefit the employees.
He stated that as PSUs they expect all the matters on the negotiation table to be addressed in the current financial year. Vilakati said on the JNF, they were expecting an update on the proposed consultant so that the salary review exercise could be implemented.
“Initially the consultant is expected to spend 12 months on the exercise and the delays have already affected the time frame,” Vilakati said. According to Vilakati, the salary review exercise would benefit all civil servants as it would adjust the salary scale for every employee.
He stated that the constant delays would push the salary review to the next financial year. Vilakati said government needed to come out clear and state if it is willing to implement the salary review this year.
“Their tactics show that they are not ready to implement anything this year,” he said.
On the appeals, he said as PSUs, they expected government to bring the appeals establishment circular so that they know, which appeals passed. He said the GNT team needed to report back as the appeals would be heard in April.
Vilakati highlighted that as a union, they had their own appeals which would benefit their colleagues who were unfairly treated for the past years. He said the postponements showed that they were not serious about issues raised by the PSUs.
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