Business Eswatini, TUCOSWA’s Dialogue on Jobs
MBABANE – The upcoming Dialogue on Jobs is not perceived only as a solution to the ever growing rate of unemployment, but as a tool to unlock the country’s economic dilemma and to cut down labour-related disputes.
While employers are looking forward to great outcomes, employees, on the other hand, are hopeful that the summit will provide a level platform for engaging with their employers meaningfully.
The dialogue on jobs is not good news only to employers and employees, but also to Cabinet ministers.
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo, and his counterpart from Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi have embraced the initiative. On Friday, they showed their support by posing with T-shirts branded about the initiative.
Meanwhile, Lifespan Diagnostics Managing Director (MD), Zinhle Matsebula said the summit would provide a level ground.
“The bipartite dialogue initiative has come at the right time, where there is a glaring need to address the havoc left by the most recent developments in the country which caused economic stagnation and a high incidence of unemployment. As a company whose passion is to reverse the rife unemployment rates, especially among the youth, we are very grateful to BE for the engagement between employers and employees and we have our fingers crossed that it will yield a great outcome,” the MD said.
“As a business sector, we are not coping with the rate at which unemployment is growing, hence the need to look at collective solutions to arrest this alarming problem. The job summit will benefit both employers and employees, as it will provide a level ground for both parties to unlock the economic dilemmas we need to deal with collectively and harmoniously.
“From this dialogue, I also hope the engagements will promote mutual respect among both stakeholders concerned and limit the number of disputes in the workplace. Our hopes are very high and we are excited about an initiative of this nature,” she added.
On the other hand, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Phila Buthelezi has pledged his ministry’s for the talks.
“We encourage such dialogues. This is a good thing because these two constituencies are at loggerheads most of the time. To have them sit down and engage is a positive move. It will make the labour space a stable one. The ministry is fully behind the talks,” he said.