March for SNAT president
“If they do, they give us the most awkward routes,” said Dludlu.
The Swaziland Multi-Stakeholders Forum (MSF) is among the formations that have come out to say they would accompany Mbongwa today when he goes to see the NATCOM.
MSF Chairperson Thulani Maseko told our sister publication, the Times SUNDAY, that they would join TUCOSWA in supporting Mbongwa. He said targeting individuals was basically missing the point.
The Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) also invited its members to join the march to support the SNAT president.
In its official social media pages, SNUS urged all its members to join the teachers and the entire body of emaSwati to accompany Mbongwa in defence from State persecution.
“SNAT has spoken: All roads lead to Mbabane next week Monday (15-082022),” said the union.
Besides meeting the NATCOM, the SNAT president is also expected to hand over his responses to the Ministry of Education and Training. He would be responding to the ‘show cause letter’ that was sent to him by the ministry’s Under Secretary (US) – Schools Manager, Lungelo Nhlengetfwa.
In the letter, Dlamini was asked to provide reasons why disciplinary action should not be taken against him after he warned teachers not to go to work on August 8, 2022.
In the actual call, the TUCOSWA
SG (Gina) said Convention 87 of the International Labour Organisation provided the right of trade unions to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes in full freedom.
He said employers and public authorities were to refrain from any interference which may impede or restrict the exercise of these fundamental worker and trade union rights.
He said the victimisation of Mbongwa in his individual capacity was complete intimidation on the part of his employer, which was the government.
Gina said Mbongwa was communicating a position taken by the collective leadership of the teachers’ union, not his individual decision.
Constitutional
He said Mbongwa communicated to the membership an organisational position. “In his exercise of such functions, he is only bound by the constitutional dictates of the union constitution, not by any laws or regulations governing his employment contract with his employer,” said Gina.
The unionist (Gina) said it was clear that government in this instance was impending and restricting the right of the union guaranteed and protected by Convention 87. He said if for any reason, government was aggrieved by Mbongwa’s utterances, it should have been directed to SNAT, the union, based on the Recognition Agreement that existed between the two parties.
Gina added that the understanding was that the exercise of trade union rights provided in the Convention must be within the existing legal framework. “True to that spirit, the SNAT has informed the Ministry of Education of their predicament arising from a circulating threat directed to their members,” added Gina.
He added that what later befell the head teacher and others at Nyakatfo High School in the Hhohho Region confirmed the reality of the said threat.
Gina said government and its agencies were again called upon to desist from victimising and intimidating worker leaders in their quest to avoid the real issues facing the country.
He said the country was faced with a political problem which required a political solution
“The blame shifting and buying time game has never worked anywhere in the world,” said Gina.