STALEMATE IN GOVT, UNION SALARY TALKS

MANZINI – There was a stand-off at the negotiation table as public sector unions refused to finalise the agenda for this fiscal year as per government’s plea and demanded an update on the salary review process.

The stand-off happened on Wednesday when the public sector unions met government at the negotiation table.
One of the unions’ executive members said government asked them to finalise the agenda for the current fiscal year but they demanded that it furnishes them with a clear and tangible update on the salary review process.

He said they had an agreement with government that it would update them every time they meet at the table about the salary review process.
“We refused to look at the agenda because our feeling was that the salary review process was the matter of urgency to our members,” the union executive member said.

He said government told them that the consultancy company would deliver the report on June 2, 2015. He said government also told them that it would take the report to the central agencies, which include the Ministries of Economic Planning, Finance and Public Service before taking it to cabinet for approval ahead of being implemented.

“This also did not go down well with us (unions) as we had a feeling that government would not be following the procedure by doing so. The normal procedure is that the consultancy report should be delivered straight to the negotiation table where it would be deliberated upon before being taken to Cabinet for approval,” he said.

Another union executive member said they refused to work on the agenda because they felt there was no other matter besides the salary review process that their members anticipated.

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