FEDERATIONS LIABLE FOR DAMAGE OF PROPERTY

LOBAMBA – Organisations or federations which commit a criminal or malicious act during a protest action shall be liable to criminal or civil laws of the country.

This is according to Section 40 (13) of the Industrial Relations Amendment Bill, of 2014, which was tabled with a Certificate of Urgency by Minister of Labour and Social Security Winnie Magagula yesterday in the House of Assembly.

The minister, when making the second reading of the Bill and giving her preamble, said while drafting the amendment, they had considered that during some legal protests some damage was done to property.

She said as a result they had drafted the Bill to include Subsection 13 which reads: “A person, an organisation or federation which commits a criminal, malicious or negligent act during a protest action shall be liable under criminal or civil laws of the country.”

However, experts have noted that nothing much has changed with this clause as they hold the view that it was impractical to hold the organisations liable but individuals.  Mduduzi Gina of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) expressed hope that they would be given an opportunity as stakeholders to make an input on the Bill.

“This (clause) will be denial of the right to strike or protest because some people who are against us can vandalise property but who will be held liable, us,”Gina wondered.
“We agreed to a code that will work on industrial action and protests, specifically on how the police can be part of us to identify the individuals for criminal liability,” he said briefly.

Gina requested to have a glimpse of the amended Bill prior to making comments.
Section 60 has also been amended by the extension of a period of three days where a matter is not resolved, in particular, on issues giving rise to protest action. Previously the days were seven. 

Subsection (3) now states that where a matter is not resolved within a period of 10 days after the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) has put in place a mechanism to resolve the issues giving rise to a protest action, the period may be extended if the parties concerned agree or at the request of the party intending to take action or the period may be extended by the LAB where the party intending to take protest fails without reasonable cause to attend meetings called by the LAB to resolve the matter.

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