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MVA EMPLOYEES TO DOWN TOOLS MARCH 5

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MBABANE – Enough is enough! This seems to be the resolution that has been taken by employees of the Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF) who are ready to down tools and take to the streets.


This is according to a strike notice against the company which was issued by the Swaziland Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (SUFIAW) on February 20, 2018.
SMVAF is an instrument by which the government compensates road accident victims who have suffered bodily injuries or loss of support following the death of breadwinners.


According to the notice letter, the employees have had enough and are ready to down tools, starting from March 5, 2018.
In the notice, which was directed to all its members, SUFIAW stated that it had issued a strike notice against the parastatal following its failure to implement the job evaluation and salary review report in terms of an agreement signed between the two parties. It stated that SMVAF had also failed to pay the shortfall of 12 per cent on cost of living settlement.


“Our members have waited for months on end as management had advised that they wait for a response from their principals. Clearly, with such inordinate delay, it is clear that the best way is to strike,” reads part of the notice.
The union noted that management had always confirmed to staff that the funds for implementing the salary review had been provided for.


“The question is what then could be holding back the principals from granting the approval. It cannot be a question of withholding the approval simply because one has the power to do so,” states the notice letter.
The union further stated that on the cost of living, it did not understand how the same principals could manage to approve a similar shortfall for one parastatal and leave out the one for SMVAF yet they came in at about the same time.
“In the circumstances, we are left with no option but to hit the road,” states the letter, which was signed by the SUFIAWU Secretary General, Jabu Shiba.


Signs that a strike by employees was looming at SMVAF became clear in December last year after the two parties failed to reach an agreement after negotiations before the Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC).
The salary review was approved way back in 2012 but nothing has happened since then.


Seeing that their issue was not being addressed, the union reported the matter to CMAC, which was accompanied by a series of meetings.


A source who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity mentioned that taking the decision to down tools was the only option as the salary review issue had dragged for a long time, leading to the employees losing their patience.
According to the source, instead of implementing the review, management had allegedly been postponing the negotiations with SUFIAWU.

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