Times Of Swaziland: GOVT STARTS E15M PAY REVIEW EXERCISE

GOVT STARTS E15M PAY REVIEW EXERCISE
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Nonduduzo Kunene on 25/11/2022 06:53:00


MBABANE – Government has started the E15 million salary review exercise, while
PSUs raised concerns about the delay of the process.
The first step to the salary review of all civil servants in the country started
yesterday, following that government and the Public Sector Unions (PSUs) reached
an agreement on the terms of reference of the exercise. The agreement was
reached this year in July during the Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) which is
formed by the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) and the four PSUs made up of the
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Swaziland Democratic Nurses
Union (SWADNU), National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) and
the Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).
The issue of salary review was eventually the first on the JNF agenda after the
Conciliation Mediation Arbitration Commission (CMAC)’s intervention. The PSUs
leaders wanted the salary review to be first of the JNF agenda, while the GNT
prioritised cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA). The parties reached a deadlock and
ended up at CMAC, but were sent back to solve the matter amicably which saw the
PSUs winning the order of the agenda items. Yesterday, the Ministry of Public
Service invited qualified firms to express their interest in providing the
service. This will culminate in shortlisting and ultimately choosing the best
evaluated bidder, which will conduct the E15 million salary review exercise for
the over 35 000 civil servants.
Interest
The Expression of Interest document can be obtained at the Ministry of Public
Service, Ministry of Finance building at E300 fee, which should be paid at
Mbabane Revenue Office, Account Number 41/2301/21132. The ministry pointed out
that the consultant should have a high level of competency in the fields of
Management Sciences, with specialised training in any of the three key areas of
the assignment, namely, job evaluation, job grading and salary structure
development. He or she must have 10 years proven experience in leading similar
projects.
“The team should be well capacitated in management services with at least 10
years of involvement in organisational design and compensation. They should also
have strong analytical skills and report writing with experience in research.
The team should also be fluent in English and siSwati and be able to work with
and facilitate diverse stakeholder groups,” states the invitation. After the
shortlisting government as well as the PSUs secretariat will have to choose the
best consultant for those who would be submitted by government.
Security
The process will also cover the job evaluation exercise, which might result in
some job titles being scraped out or paired. The salary review exercise will go
hand-in-hand with state security phase II salary restructuring exercise. Despite
the progress of the much awaited exercise, the PSUs secretariat raised concerns
over the period from the agreement at the JNF and the beginning of the tendering
process. Chairperson of the PSUs secretariat Welcome Mdluli who is also SWADNU
President said they were concerned about government’s snail pace in dealing
with the issue. Mdluli stated that the government and PSUs concluded salary
review talks in July.
He stated that it was agreed at the table that by October this year, the
consultant should start working.  “Government undermines us because they were
supposed to stick to the agreed period,” he said. Mdluli said they were
crossing fingers that the delay by government would not delay the
implementation, which was expected in the next financial year. Worth noting is
that the last salary review was in 2016 and was conducted by LCC Capital
consultant. The team leader was Enziwe Dube.  Some of the findings of that
review were not implemented as a result they formed part of this year’s JNF.
These included travelling and housing allowances.
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service Sipho
Tsabedze explained that the delay was caused by the process that they had to
follow when issuing the tender. He said PSUs leaders were made aware of the
process. He noted that as a ministry, they would not just leave the negotiations
and start issuing a tender. Tsabedze also said the final date for the
application was December 9, 2022, with the hope that by next year, the exercise
would be at an advanced stage.