Civil servants are concerned that the salary review may not be implemented in October, suspecting that government might employ delaying tactics.
These fears surfaced after the meeting between public sector union (PSU) leaders and government on Monday, where they had hoped to receive a final report on the salary review for civil servants. PSUs are made up of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), and the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU).
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On Monday, the leaders left the meeting dejected as the salary review consultants, Emergence Growth Consultancy and Umelusi Consultancy Firm, only presented the draft report.
According to the PSUs, this paints a gloomy picture regarding the possibility of the salary review being implemented in October as proposed in the timelines.
The secretariat revealed that when they assembled at the ministry waiting for the consultant, they received a message on their WhatsApp group chat around 10:45am, stating that what they had been waiting for would only pave the way for the final report.
“We waited in the boardroom until we went to the PS office to find out the whereabouts of the consultant,” the secretariat elaborated.
The PSUs explained that they were told by the PS in the Ministry of Public Service, Mthunzi Shabangu, that the consultant would engage with the PSUs alone. It is reported that a disagreement arose because the developments did not align with what was agreed on in the previous meeting.
The PSU leaders said they had expected the full report, scheduled for delivery on Monday, to be presented in the presence of the entire JNF, which is the government negotiating team (GNT) and the PSUs.
They alleged that it was then communicated that the consultant was not ready to deliver the report.
Consultant unprepared
While they were engaging with the PS, the consultant told the PSUs to assemble at the Hilton Garden Inn for the meeting.
The PSUs said the consultant appeared unprepared to deliver the report. It was stated that the consultant and the Ministry of Public Service held a private meeting until 2pm, when the draft report was presented, which lasted until late in the evening, around 6pm.
Meanwhile, Shabangu (PS) said Monday’s meeting was for the presentation of the draft report.
“We met for the draft report presentation and to make comments that would be taken into account by the consultant as they prepare for the final report which will be presented to the JNF next week Tuesday,” he said.
He added that he could not go into the details of the report as everything was at the drafting stage. In terms of meeting the timelines or target, the PS said they were on pace.
The five scenarios of the review
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Scenario 1 – If government was to implement a 70% to 90% increase, it would cost around E2 billion.
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Scenario 2 – A 40% to 50% increase would cost plus or minus E1.7 billion.
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Scenario 3 – A 30% to 40% increase would cost plus or minus E1.3 billion.
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Scenario 4 – A 20% to 30% increase would cost about E1.1 billion.
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Scenario 5 – A 10% to 20% increase would cost plus or minus half a billion.
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