The Industrial Court in
Swaziland has
blocked an intended sympathy strike
in support of Nedbank workers.
Swaziland Union of Financial
Institution and Allied Workers (SUFIAW) had asked members in all banks across
the kingdom to strike on Friday (18 August 2017) in support of a long-running
dispute over pay.
In Swaziland, which is
ruled by King Mswati III, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa,
‘secondary’ or ‘sympathy’ strikes are illegal.
The strike at Nedbank over
a 10 percent cost of living adjustment continues.
In 2015 Swaziland was named
as
one of the ten worst countries for working people in the world, in a report
from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The kingdom was grouped alongside some of the worst
human rights violators in the world, including Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt,
Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
The report called The
World’s Worst Countries for Workers, reviewed the conditions
workers faced during the previous year.
Among the worst cases in Swaziland the ITUC reported
on the strike
at the Maloma Mine which is partly owned by King Mswati.
It reported, ‘Some 250 workers went on strike on 24
November [2014], after the mine management refused to negotiate over a US$72
housing allowance with the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Swaziland (ATUSWA). All
legal requirements were observed by the striking workers, and even though the
strike was peaceful, the workers were surrounded by police equipped with riot
shields, protective headgear, guns and teargas.
‘During the strike, management refused the workers
access to water, toilets and medical facilities. Chancellor House, the
investment arm of the ANC, owns 75% of the Maloma mine, with the remaining 25%
owned by the Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, a fund controlled by King Mswati III, who is
one of the world’s last remaining absolute monarchs.’
ITUC also reported that the Swazi Prime Minister Barnabas
Dlamini, ‘publicly threatened Sipho Gumedze from the
Lawyers for Human Rights and TUCOSWA [Trade Union Congress of Swaziland]
General Secretary Vincent Ncongwane because of their participation in the US
Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC.
‘Prime Minister Dlamini made the following statement
during a speech in Parliament: “They leave your constituencies and do not even
inform you where they are going and once they come back and you find out that
they are from your constituency you must strangle them.”’
A week after that report was issued, the International
Labour Organization (ILO)
told Swaziland it must stop interfering in the
activities of trade unions; ensure workers’ organizations are fully assured of
their rights and ensure they have the autonomy and independence they need to
represent workers.
The ILO placed Swaziland in a ‘special paragraph’ in
its annual report to highlight the deficiencies in the kingdom’s commitment to
freedom of association.
See also
MORE
WORKERS JOIN SUGARCANE TRADE UNION
HUMAN
SUFFERING AND SWAZI SUGAR
KING
EXPLOITS SUGAR WORKERS
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