Wages Councils late payment regrettable – Labour
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MBABANE – Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi commissioned 18 tripartite wages councils for the period 2023-2026, despite failing to pay for the previous councils.
The wages councils’ term of office ended with their last engagement, which resulted in gazettes setting minimum terms and conditions of employment, including minimum rates for remuneration. The wages councils have been patiently waiting for their allowances after providing all the necessary documentations that were required.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Labour Commissioner Mthunzi Shabangu confirmed and said the non-payment of wages councils sitting allowances was regrettable.
Shabangu said the Ministry of Labour and Social Security had been challenged by the quarterly disbursement funds, which impacted on a number of activities of the wages councils.
He said the challenge with the payment was that wages councils work was treated as projects. Shabangu said funding towards the wages councils was a challenge since the ministry had to deal with the departmental priorities on the quarterly budgets.
Narrating how the delay on the payment of the allowances came to being, the commissioner said the wages council suddenly finished their work almost at the same time.
He said since they were getting funding quarterly, they were left with challenges in paying the wages councils. However, Shabangu assured that with the experience they faced they would do much better with the recently appointed wages councils. “The wages councils are 18 in total with about 9 to 15 people in each council,” said Shabangu.
Budget
He said the challenge was that the councils ended up finishing at the same time, yet their budget was released quarterly. He said they were now planning to budget for the allowance to be treated as a project and requisition be done at once.
Shabangu assured wages councils that they would receive their allowances.
He said the allowances batches were divided and disbursed quarterly as they received the government funds. “Only a few wages councils were not paid and this being the last quarter we will be finalising payment of the allowance,” said Shabangu.
Worth mentioning, Minister of Labour and Social Security
Phila Buthelezi this week commissioned the wages councils of 2023-2026.
The wages councils are tasked with, among other things, setting minimum terms and conditions of employment, including minimum rates of remuneration.
He commissioned 18 tripartite wages councils for the period 2023 to 2026 for the various economic sectors of the country. Each council comprises of independent members and a chairperson derived.
In our sister publication Times of Eswatini the minister urged the newly-appointed councils to do all they could to consider all those factors that play a key role during collective bargaining processes in determining the levels of salary increments and other conditions of service.
The minisister was particular that issues such as inflation rate, cost/standard of living, including transport costs to and from work, accommodation costs and subsistence, among other factors must form part of the bargaining processes.
He further pleaded for the wages councils, that where possible, they should do a benchmarking exercise on similar industries within the region with a view to ascertain their rates of pay and similar conditions of service.