Home | News | PSA LEADERS ACCUSED OF SIGNING DEAL WITH GOVT NEVER TO STRIKE

PSA LEADERS ACCUSED OF SIGNING DEAL WITH GOVT NEVER TO STRIKE

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font

MBABANE – The public sector association (PSA) leaders are accused of clandestinely signing an agreement never to strike over issues concerning the salary review in a ‘leaked’ letter.


This came to the fore just when the PSAs were engaging their members to consult and recharge mandates. In the leaked letter, it is alleged that documents signed on behalf of the public servants stated that civil servants would not go on strike over the salary review exercise. It is alleged that the pact saw the PSAs promising government that they would not engage in any strike. Sources partaking in the Joint Negotiations Forum (JNF) and who are well versed on the events leading to a ‘deal’ between government and PSAs stated that there was no deal said that there would be no strike in any matter pertaining to the salary review.

“There was no deal between PSAs and government stating that there would be no strike action. what happened is that we agreed with government that while petitioning for the release of the salary review report, we would not march from Coronation Park,” said the source. The source stated that marching through the city centre would have required them to oblige to Section 40 of the Public Order Bill. He said following this, the PSAs agreed with government that they would not engage in protest actions within the city centre while petitioning government for the salary review report.


Also, in response to these allegations, the Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Muzi Mhlanga, vehemently refuted allegations of having sold out members of the association by signing the alleged agreement with government. In fact, he said the current leadership made conscious decisions mindful of the well-being of their members. “It would have been wrong for us to sign such an agreement if it was meant to stop us from striking in future because members make the call not us,” Mhlanga said. “We know this issue and have been dealing with it for a while. We signed this document in November and it was in connection with what was happening at that time when the public sector associations were fighting to be given the salary review report.”
He said government took PSAs to court and said they were conducting strikes yet they were conducting picket actions.
Government alleged that a letter written by PSAs informing it that members intended to march to deliver a petition from Coronation Park to Cabinet was a strike. “We then signed an agreement that in fact this was not a strike but a picket action. Even then this was to prove to the judge that we weren’t striking but indeed picketing.” Mhlanga revealed that the document was signed as an out of court settlement between the two parties. “This is all lies; it is just being said by people who want to raise their profiles by acting as if the current leadership has let down teachers. We have seen this on our SNAT group and this was said even before we went to negotiations.

Comments (0 posted):

Post your comment comment

Please enter the code you see in the image: