IT’S ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR COLA STRIKE?

MANZINI - Provisional results in SNAT’s possession suggest that it’s all systems go in as far as their proposed 2018/19 CoLA strike is concerned.

The provisional results show that at least 98 per cent of their members who cast their votes yesterday voted for the strike while the remaining two per cent was merely spoilt votes.

This is because according to the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General, Sikelela Dlamini, as a teachers’ union, which had about 14 000 members, they were impressed by the number of educators who voted yesterday.
The teachers had to cast their votes, either for or against the proposed strike action.

The teachers’ union had two balloting dates for the proposed 2018/19 cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) industrial action; yesterday and today. In this planned strike action, the teachers and other public sector workers who are organised under the banner of public sector associations (PSAs) will be demanding 6.55 per cent salary adjustment.

Impressed

Dlamini said they were impressed by the number of members who showed up at the eight balloting centres yesterday.
In fact, he said when they counted yesterday’s votes, the mathematics proved that about 98 per cent of the teachers who cast their votes, voted for the planned industrial action.

“I can safely say that yesterday, no one voted against the proposed strike action as the votes of the other two per cent were spoilt,” the teachers’ union secretary general said.

However, he said the full results for the balloting process would be announced by the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC), which is conducting the voting process. He said this would be done once the commission had consolidated the ballot papers for yesterday and today.
For the strike action to take place, at least half of those who voted should vote for the industrial action.

Thereafter, the unions would have to inform government of the proposed dates for the strike action. On another note, Dlamini reminded their members from the branches who would be voting today, to keep time. He said they should remember to carry their national identity (ID) cards, and payslips. 

He said teachers who were not members of the union, but who wanted to vote, should bring their ID cards, completed stop order form (to be obtained from branch secretaries) and receipt as proof that an individual had paid the joining fee.
Furthermore, the secretary general asked branch leaders to be visible at the voting sites from the beginning to the end in order to assist in supervising the process and counting thereafter.

It is worth noting that the Swaziland National Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), whose members are also expected to partake in the planned strike action, cast their votes last Friday. However, the official results of the balloting process are yet to be released.
On the other hand, the balloting dates for members of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) are yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, it seems like the balloting process for SNAT members did not affect the operation of schools. This is because the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Education and Training, Gugu Masuku, said even though she might not be in a position to comment about the matter, she did not hear of any complaints. However, she was quick to refer this publication to the regional education officers (REOs), by saying they were the first people who might know if there were disruptions or not.

Manzini Acting REO Nhlanhla Dlamini said by close of business yesterday, he had not received any complaints from schools.

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