REVEALED: GOVT REJECTED STAGGERED 7.85% COLA

MBABANE – It has emerged that government allegedly turned down a proposal by PSAs for a staggered 7.85 per cent CoLA payment.

The CoLA negotiations are currently suspended pending a court case in which government wants the Industrial Court to interdict the public sector associations (PSAs), from engaging in a strike action to force their employer to pay them cost-of-living adjustment.

During the course of the court proceedings, the PSAs and the attorney general engaged in negotiations with a view to agree on what they hoped would put the matter to bed.

However, no agreement was concluded. The matter is currently awaiting judgment from Industrial Court Judge President Sifiso Nsibandze.

Proposal

When the parties held the negotiations two weeks ago, the PSAs proposed an offer of 7.85 per cent for the year 2017/2018 as CoLA. According to the proposal, the PSAs wanted government to pay them  CoLA on or before September 1, 2019 in the following manner; They wanted to be paid at least four per cent on or before September 1, 2019 and the balance of 3.85 per cent on or before December 1, 2019.

Alternatively, the PSAs proposed that government should adjust their salaries by 3.85 per cent over and above the CoLA which shall be due to them for the year 2018/2019, despite any agreement that may be entered into between the parties in the negotiations of the same year.
The PSAs came up with a third alternative in which they proposed that government should adjust their salaries by 5.5 per cent as CoLA from 2017 to the end of the current term of office of the new Cabinet, being 2023.

They further proposed that the effect of the CoLA should be on or before April 1 of every year and that it should be conditional to the rate of inflation not exceeding six per cent.

According to the proposal, should the rate of inflation go above six per cent, CoLA would be increased as per the increase.
The Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Sikelela Dlamini, said this proposal was rejected by government resulting in the court proceedings continuing.

Other PSAs which are involved in the matter are the Swaziland National Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP) and National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU).
Government is alleged to have come with its own proposal, in which it offered to pay them at a later stage and for the time being implored the PSAs that when they return to the negotiation table, they should forfeit their right to strike.

The PSAs did not accept this proposal. Since the parties could not reach an agreement, the court proceedings continued to the end and the matter is awaiting judgment at a date yet to be announced.

When contacted regarding the matter, the Minister of Public Service, Christian Ntshangase said he was not aware of what the parties failed to agree upon.
The minister said he had, up to now, not been briefed on the issue save to get a short message service (SMS) from the attorney general, Sifiso Khumalo, to the effect that the matter had been argued and he was still to get a detailed report regarding the issue.

Ntshangase added that at the moment he was still to be briefed fully by the attorney general and the government negotiating team (GNT), and he would provided a detailed response on Monday.
According to the secretary general of SNAT, judging from the arguments and the general atmosphere in the courtroom, the PSAs were optimistic that they would get a ruling in their favour.

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