GOVT MUST STOP LOOMING TEACHERS’ STRIKE - PARENTS

MBABANE - Parents want government to stop the looming strike by public sector associations (PSAs) by all means.

This call by parents comes at the back of an ailing economy that has seen the working class getting no increment in three consecutive years. A majority of the working class are in the civil service, which has over 44 000 employees. Some of the parents, who opposed the looming strike, explained that the strike would be detrimental to their resources. They wondered why the union leaders were not delaying any industrial action until April, which is the month government committed to offer them an increment. They claimed that since this was a new year, fares for commuting their children to school had increased and given that whenever teachers were engaged in an industrial action, the transport fares by service  providers (bomalume)  were not refunded. It has been gathered that some bomalume have increased the fares by E100. This means guardians who were paying E500 for one child would this term pay E600.

Detriment

The parents, in the robust debates that were held in social networking platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, claimed that as much as the strike was aimed at propelling government to act, it was to their detriment. The guardians argued that the strike was to the detriment of their finances given that transport fares had increased; therefore, funding the transportation of their children to school to do absolutely nothing, as teachers would be engaged in various activities, would be a waste. They said the activities planned by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), which are scheduled to start next week Monday (January 27, 2020) until next month, would mean their children would travel to school to do nothing but play.

In their various engagements, the parents highlighted that the increment of fares in both public and organised transport would deplete their coffers. Worth noting, since last week, is that there has been a showdown between commuters and public transport operators who are reportedly charging newly-gazetted fares. “Government should stop this strike because it has been happening every year now and we are benefitting nothing. Instead, our children end up engaging in relationships as they have ample time on their hands,” one parent said. Another parent wondered what the purpose of the strike was as government had not afforded them the sought cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) in three years.

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