Workers celebrate amid closure of UNESWA
WORKERS around the world celebrated Workers Day while some Eswatini workers were faced with challenges of job losses, salary increment, weakening bargaining power, inability to protest under their collective organisation such as TUCOSWA, rights of workers violation and many more ills.
On this day the ILO Director-General, Gilbert Huong, said; “This is a moment for pride, celebration and hope. After three years of the COVID-19 crisis followed by inflation, conflict, and food and fuel supply shocks, the promises of renewal made during the pandemic, of ‘building back better’, have so far not been delivered for the great majority of workers worldwide.” He observed that globally, ‘real wages have fallen, poverty is rising and inequality seems more entrenched than ever. He also observed that enterprises have been hard-hit. Many could not cope with the cumulative effects of recent unexpected events. Small and micro-enterprises were particularly affected, and many have ceased operations, he said. He regretted that that people felt that the sacrifices they made to get through COVID-19 had not been recognised and rewarded. Their voices are not being heard clearly enough. This, combined with a perceived lack of opportunities, has created a disturbing level of mistrust. He then said; “It doesn’t have to be like this. We are still the masters of our fate, but if we are to shape a new, more stable and equitable world, we must choose a different path – one that prioritises social justice.” He noted that social justice was not only achievable but also essential for a sustainable future. In terms of how do we get there, he noted that policies and actions must be human-centred.
Wishes
I would like to congratulate workers who also commemorated this day peacefully. I would like to note that the minister of Labour also conveyed his best wishes to all workers, noting the challenges workers face including low salaries, casual and seasonal employment and safety issues, to mention a few. He then said he wished workers and employers would deal with these challenges to unleash production and achieve better welfare for workers.
The TUCOSWA secretary general, when addressing the workers, noted critical issues that need urgent government attention. The issues included; end of labour brokers, conversion of the Provident Fund to a pension, permanent jobs not to be paid on fixed term contracts like teachers and nurses and the payment of severance pay. He also noted calls for sanctions against the country due to its human rights violations record, noting that this has serious implications for workers as well; hence the need for workers to pay attention and advocate for democratic reforms. He also appreciated that the country received a SACU windfall which was double of what was expected. Hence, as a federation they expect the lack of drugs and low grants for the elderly to be a thing of the past. He also called for solidarity with LGBTQ as the courts have endorsed the non-registration of their organisation. He also called for workers to not leave the burden of the elderly to government alone but to take care of their parents as well.
As workers in the country were celebrating Workers Day, UNESWA workers and students faced a bleak future because of the workers protest due to issues of performance (notches), according to the media, had resulted in a non-stop strike resulting in indefinite closure of the university. It was and still is indeed concerning that the future of the students is at stake yet education is the main vehicle to address poverty.
We sympathise with UNESWA workers, who have been facing salary issues for years following government’s inability to pay the institution adequate subventions for its operations. We also sympathise with UNESWA’s leadership who are caught in this serious strike yet they have no capacity to negotiate with workers due to financial challenges that have been well captured by the media over the years.
Question
The question that parents and all stakeholders are asking themselves is; why is parliament silent yet it is fully aware that government has contributed to this crisis by not financing UNESWA and other tertiary institutions based on their budgets over the last few years? Why is government turning a blind eye and on the process threatening the future of emaSwati children? The Elections and Boundary Commission (EBC) is mobilising emaSwati to vote; the question I have is why should emaSwati vote for a government that has lost touch with them? Is it to provide jobs for the Members of Parliament, tindvuna and bucopho? Sadly, government plans to splash money in September on a double celebration yet life and death issues are being ignored. What is there to celebrate as ordinary people suffer? Currently, pupils in schools face hunger as there are no deliveries of food commodities for their meals and drug shortages are a constant problem to mention a few challenges.