SFTU DEMANDS STILL RELEVANT

This week, I just thought I would take readers down memory lane of the history of the popular demands.

This was a programme that started a process focused at improving the socio-economic, social protection and socio-political status of the people of Swaziland across all economic sectors of the economy, formal and informal, male and female, white and blue-collar workers.
The 27 Demands were first delivered to Prime Minister Obed Dlamini in October 1993, with the demand for immediate response and full delivery within six months.

That period of notice was then interrupted by the elections, which caused the clock to be stopped with regard to the six months deadline. 
In the meantime, the new Government of Prince Mbilini saw him personally getting interested and involved in discussions on the 27 Demands with new deadlines identified.  This did not deter the protagonists from the sporadic holding of strikes.

This included a two-day strike action following a mass assembly at the old Trade Fair Grounds in Manzini.
This action gave rise to a government-established committee that initiated the process of dialogue.  The high-level meetings continued but in the opinion of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), there was no real political will to tackle the 27 Demands.  Further, confrontation with the SFTU top brass that was initiated by the then minister for labour – ironically a former trade unionist himself – caused relations and the prospects of productive dialogue to deteriorate. 

The outcome of this worsening of relations was the drafting of new labour legislation, the then Industrial Relations Amendment Bill of 1995. 
The intention of the new law was clear – illegal strikes would now become criminal activities.

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