143 PSU appeals against 2016 Salary Review exercise
MANZINI–There are 143 appeals registered by the Public Sector Unions ( PSUs) of Swaziland subsequent to the 2016 Salary Review exercise which affected civil servants.
This has been disclosed by the PSUs in a statement issued on Wednesday night set to keep their members abreast, following t he sitting of the joint negotiation forum( J NF) wherein a report was presented by the government negotiation team ( GNT).
The report, which came almost seven years after the salary review was effected, was presented to the four PSUs, namely; National Public Services and Allied Workers Union ( NAPSAWU), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union ( SWADNU), Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Professionals ( SNAGAP) and Swaziland National Association of Teachers ( SNAT).
The PSUs represent a fraction of civil servants who are about 42 686, according to the Establishment Register for the financial year 2022/ 23 and are said to cost the taxpayer around E7.3 billion as per projections of Wage Bill at the end of the past financial year ( March 31, 2022).
The statement by the four PSUs informed their members that the GNT presented the report on the appeals by the employees on the discrepancies of the 2016 Salary Review Report. “It was indicated that the Management Services Division ( MSD) in the Public Service received 143 appeals from the different members in the public service.
Patience
The report is yet to be deliberated upon by the unions in bilateral discussions to comprehend the outcomes of the process. We urge members to exercise patience with the leadership in this regard as there is need to understand how the process was conducted,” reads in part the statement.
They further submitted to their members that during the JNF, previous aspirations of benefitting from the four per cent which was awarded to uniformed forces in December should also be extended to all civil servants.
The unions said they unapologetically submitted that they want to benefit from the increment that was only offered to security forces last year. They said it was their view that all civil servants should enjoy the same rights and privileges, without any discrimination, and as such, they were demanding that all employees in the civil service should benefit from the increment.