WITH negotiations for the proposed salary review implementation scheduled for tomorrow, public sector unions (PSUs) have rejected government’s offer of E500 million and the implementation of the salary review exercise in a phased format.
At a mass meeting held at SNAT Centre yesterday organised by PSUs leadership, civil servants vowed to march to the ministry of public service tomorrow to demand the implementation of the exercise at E1 643 billion as per recommendation of the consultant.
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This came after Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP) Secretary General, Phumzile Masilela informed the over 8 000 civil servants at the meeting that they received the final report of the salary review exercise on September 29 from the consultant.
She said subsequent to the issuance of the report, they had their first negotiation meeting on Friday.
Masilela said during the meeting, the government negotiation team (GNT) said cabinet, which is their principal, agreed that they supported that the negotiation of the salary review be premised on scenario three.
She said after the exercise was costed under such a scenario, it became clear that E1.643 billion would be needed to implement the whole salary review exercise.
Masilela said as per their agreement, the money would be used to pay the civil servants their backpay and allowances in line with the recommendation of the consultant.
“The employer informed us that it understands and agrees with such an arrangement, however, for now they only have E500 million for the salary review exercise, which we refused to sign,” she said.
Related: Final salary report still has gaps – NAPSAWU
She said the employer urged them (PSUs leadership) to negotiate with the civil servants that they exhaust the E500 million for now and the remaining balance would be paid in instalments.
She pointed out that as per their employer, the second payment will be made in the next financial year, which is April next year.
She said instead of signing the offer they deemed it necessary to consult their members and gather their input regarding such an arrangement.
The civil servants were given an opportunity to disclose whether or not they accepted the offer made by government.
During their submissions, the civil servants minced no words, saying they rejected the E500 million offer as well as the implementation of the salary review in a phased format.
They decried many challenges they had faced for years like hunger since the last salary review exercise in 2016.
They accused government of having a history of failing to fulfil its promises.
This was supported by SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini, who gave a detailed account of instances where government allegedly failed to keep its promises. They further pointed out that if the salary review exercise would be implemented in phases, it meant that they would not be able to notch until the whole process was completed.
The civil servants agreed that in light of such a stance, it would be wise for them to come out in their numbers and accompany their leaders when they attend the joint negotiation forum (JNF) at the ministry of public service to demand the implementation of the salary review exercise in full as per the consultant’s recommendation.
The civil servants also suggested that before visiting the ministry of public service, they should go via the prime minister’s office, but they said they would communicate in due course regarding such logistics.
They also stated that they needed to be united in their quest of demanding the implementation of the salary review, since the premise of the success of same was reliant on their ability to build an element of unity amongst themselves.
They further stated that if they did not agree terms with their employer, the process of blocked negotiation should come into effect.
They also stated that there should be an extension in the running of their salaries this month, in the event their negotiations took longer than expected.
“If government fails to implement the salary review this month, salaries will not be disbursed. If it means getting paid on October 31, so be it, we demand full implementation within this month,” said the civil servants.
This, they said, was because the implementation of the salary review should take place this month.
They stated that sourcing funds for the salary review was not their concern, arguing that government had ample time to prepare. Others proposed that government secures an emergency loan or tap into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) funds to implement the exercise in full.
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