KING, TUCOSWA ENCOUNTER IN GENEVA

Perhaps it may be too early and premature to celebrate the crossing of the Rubicon by the State, at the wake of the sovereign extending an olive branch to the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) during a historic meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the seat of the International Labour Organisation that was celebrating a centenary since its founding.

Relations between government and the trade union movement have been strained since the kingdom grudgingly allowed the formation of trade unions with the enacting in 1980 of the Industrial Relations Act. One recalls how the registration of TUCOSWA created a political storm as the leadership termed it tantamount to the registration of a political party. This led to drawn-out court battles when government was forced to deregister the trade union movement. The rest is history.

Back at home some trade union leaders have already cautioned against reading too much to the historic eyeball-to-eyeball between the King and leaders of TUCOSWA, the biggest umbrella body of domestic trade unions. The history of the trade unions, since they were legalised in 1980, tells a different story of open hostility, prosecution and persecution of leaders of organised labour. Everything came to a head in 1996 when the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), the predecessor to TUCOSWA, organised what became the mother of all strikes that effectively paralysed the country, politically and economically, for an entire week of protests over what was popularly referred to as the 27 demands to government. That this country has a Constitution, albeit not necessarily respected by government, is most owed to that strike. That today the elderly received grants, albeit paltry, is also credited to those rolling protests in 1996. Indeed there is a lot of good that came out from the 27 demands and the 1996 strike that informed, and continue to inform government policies to this day.

Harassment

  As I see it, the State and government just did not fold their arms in the aftermath of the strike when order was re-established. This manifested itself in the harassment, prosecution and persecution of SFTU leaders. Indeed government’s track record apropos its treatment of trade unions and their leaders has been diabolical, hence the country was often in trouble with the ILO. Therefore, the kingdom also found itself being ejected from AGOA, the American legislation allowing African countries to export to that country duty free. Additionally, in recent years government covertly sponsored the formation of yellow trade unions in a bid to counter the influence of the mainstream labour organisations during the annual ILO meetings. Government’s divide-and-rule tendencies are manifestly projected by the Tinkhundla political system’s so-called individual merit based elections to justify the outlawing of political parties and multiparty democracy. 

Thus it came as a surprise when the Sovereign took time off to attend the ILO’s centenary celebrations considering that there was no love lost between the kingdom and this agency of the United Nations. And it also came as a shock that His Majesty also took time off to meet with TUCOSWA leaders in Geneva. But whatever the intentions, this was good for the country and good for the King. While it is common knowledge that organised labour is an antithesis of the obtaining polity of the Tinkhundla political system, whose strength derives from a polity of divide-and-rule, hence the abhorrence of political parties by the leadership, it would be unfortunate not to grasp the opportunity provided by the Geneva encounter to normalise and improve relations between government and workers organisations. We have already seen government warming up to trade unions by sending representatives to May Day celebrations this year, yet another first.

The Sovereign, in his address during the ILO centenary celebrations, also committed himself to the revival of the social dialogue that involves the tripartite of government, employers and workers. That indeed was a noble gesture that ought to be lauded and, indeed, encouraged. With the country’s economy in doldrums the tripartite parties need each other more than ever before and urgently too. Only those who do not put this country first will pull in a different direction to worsen the situation considering the junk status rating by rating agencies.

Relations

Perhaps a normalisation of relations between government and organised labour could eventually also translate on the political front with the realisation that unity – not the current divide-and-rule tactics – is strength. It is about time that the leadership appreciates that rigorous debate and dissent is of critical importance and is good for society and not a sign of disloyalty or unpatriotic behaviour. Kow-towing is fatal for any society as can be attested by the skewed national imperatives and the political order, hence the downward economic spiral of this country. It is about time that the Kingdom of Eswatini turned the tide. That is the challenge squarely on the shoulders of the leadership to open up the political space to normalise the lives of emaSwati in tandem with what is obtaining in all the modern and civilised nations of the world.  

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