MINISTER: FULFILMENT OF AGOA BENCHMARKS AT A STANDSTILL

LOBAMBA – Minister of Labour and Social Security Winnie Magagula says it is a full stop on AGOA for Swaziland so far.

She said this was because workers’ union representatives, known as the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), had still not returned to the negotiating table as part of the tripartite. TUCOSWA and the Federation of Swaziland Employees (FSE), including government, make up the tripartite. 

The minister, who spoke during a debate of her ministry’s 2014/15 first quarter performance report by senators in Parliament yesterday, said headway towards fulfilling the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) benchmarks was at a standstill because of the withdrawal of the workers’ representatives since March this year.

“Our social partners must do introspection as their withdrawal greatly affects government since there are several other programmes which require to be done by the tripartite as a whole.  Even programmes for workers have been stalled. We are on one side of the river and they are on the other,” explained Magagula in her preamble.

Senator David Dlamini showed concern about this stand-off and asked the minister what attempts were being made to bridge the gap so that progress could be made.

Senator Moi Moi Masilela wondered if there was any legislation that could be applied on the self-withdrawn social partners so that they can be brought back to the table. He said if the representatives felt they could not go on then why can they not excuse themselves and let other individuals represent the workers’ unions.

Senator Michael Temple was of the view that maybe an external mediator must be acquired to bridge the gap between government and the workers’ union representatives.

Withdrawal

The minister clarified to the politicians that it was in fact within the rights of TUCOSWA to opt for withdrawal from the negotiating table and there was no law or other recourse laid down on how the social partner who withdrew could be dealt with.
“But in all honesty, their continued withdrawal affects the very workers they represent. It really doesn’t help anybody to persist with staying away,” said Magagula.

On the question of obtaining an external mediator, she believed that it was not necessary at all because government had full confidence in the country’s Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC). She emphasised that government’s hands remained open to receive TUCOSWA back into the tripartite for the betterment of the workers and country.

The minister was optimistic that in due course TUCOSWA would return to negotiations so that the issues that made them withdraw in the first place would be dealt with for progress’ sake. She further clarified that the constitutions of workers’ unions were known to the ministry and even scrutinised. She said the constitutions empowered the unions with rights.

Programmes

In a separate interview when asked what government was doing in light of the continued withdrawal when considering stalled programmes, Magagula said the ministry only attended to extreme and emergency situations without being a full tripartite. Her example was the recent strike by workers in the sugar belt.  She also shared that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was aware of the withdrawal and its impact on progress.
“ILO continues to urge us to meet and resolve our differences. TUCOSWA must come to the table,” Magagula said.   
 

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