Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg says if public sector unions (PSUs) reject the current E500 million offer, government will have no choice but to raise additional funds.
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The minister was responding to questions on whether there was an alternative source of revenue should the PSUs reject the offer currently on the table.
E500 Million Already Budgeted
The PSUs have previously stated that sourcing funds was not their concern, arguing that government had ample time to prepare for the long-awaited salary review.
Others have proposed that government secure an emergency loan or tap into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts to implement the review in full.
Rijkenberg has, however, clarified that there is no link between the SACU funds and the salary review.
He explained that although he initially indicated the SACU funds would be received this week, he later confirmed that the funds had actually been received last Friday.
“We have the E500 million in the budget to implement straight away and will budget for scenario III from April 2026. Government will have to raise the money if we need more,” said the minister.
At present, the E500 million set aside in the national budget remains the only available allocation for the implementation of the salary review.
Unions Threaten to Down Tools
Meanwhile, the PSUs yesterday maintained that they would down tools if government fails to sign off on the E1.643 billion (Scenario III) salary review, as recommended by the consultant hired by government.
Union leaders said their members want nothing less and nothing more than what was proposed by the consultant.
They expressed shock that government, which claims it can raise the required funds by April 2026, had failed to do so for nearly a decade.
The unions also said there had been no correspondence from government following their mass meeting on Monday, where members rejected the E500 million offer.
‘Showdown Talks’ Expected in Mbabane
Negotiations for the proposed salary review are scheduled for today, and union leadership said they expect members to turn up in large numbers in Mbabane for what they described as “showdown talks.”
During Monday’s mass meeting held at the SNAT Centre, civil servants rejected government’s E500 million offer and the proposal to implement the salary review in a phased format.
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Lot Vilakati said there had been no communication from government since the unions’ rejection.
“All we expect is for government to sign off, failing which we will down tools until the consultant’s recommendations are implemented,” said Vilakati.
He added that unions would not entertain the idea of phased implementation during today’s Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) meeting.
‘We Want Scenario III, Nothing Less’
National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAW) President Bawinile Ndlovu said the unions expect to sign the agreement based on Scenario III — the full implementation recommended by the consultant.
Ndlovu said the unions might have been open to compromise if the matter were about a Cost of Living Adjustment (CoLA), but stressed that this was a salary review, which has been pending for nearly 10 years.
“Our members want nothing more or less than the consultant’s recommendation,” she said.
Ndlovu said their salaries had been eroded by inflation and rising living costs, and that government had enough time to source funds for the review over the past nine years.
“It’s strange to us that government says it will raise the funds over the next few months, yet it had ample time to do so before,” she added.
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