'STRIKING TEACHERS WILL BE FIRED'

Public sector employees who engaged in illegal strike action, specifically teachers, will face the full force of the law which includes dismissal, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini has warned. Dlamini sounded the warning in a press conference held at the cabinet offices on Friday.

In fact, teachers were warned that if they fail to attend work on Tuesday, they would face dismissal.

“All efforts to persuade the respective unions to come to the negotiation table have hitherto not succeeded,” Dlamini said.

Teachers, through the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), are up in arms against government over a 4.5% salary increment. They downed their tools in last month. In a bid to stop the strike action government, ran to court on June 20, where an order interdicting the teachers from engaging in the strike action was issued. But it would seem it fell on deaf ears as the teachers allegedly continued to abandon their work.

This led to government approaching the courts again, where an order compelling about 18 teachers to jail for contempt was sought.

The Industrial Court, however, felt that the contempt charges against the teachers were very serious hence they needed to be given time to respond to the allegations that they defied the court order which resulted in the contempt.

issued

Again, the court issued another order which rendered the strike unlawful. Teachers were given until August 20, 2012 to respond to the contempt allegations. However, the strike action seemed to continue unabated. This was despite fervent pleas by government to ask the teachers to go to their work. However, teachers said they were not in a strike action but were only conducting vuselas in their branches where they were informing their members about the court order of June 20, 2012 which stopped the intended strike.

They further distanced themselves from the allegations of violence which government preferred against them.

They argued that it was actually police who were perpetrating violence because they thought the vuselas were a strike action.

However, the head of government on Friday said after failing to coax the teachers to come to the negotiating table, teachers who would not attend their work on Tuesday, risked dismissal from their work.

Dlamini said Swaziland was a law abiding constitutional state that observed and respected the rule of law. He stated that it was the responsibility of government to ensure that the provisions of the constitution and supporting legislation were respected and observed.

No work no pay will be in force

Government will not pay civil servants for days that they did not attend their work.

On Friday, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini said after failing to persuade unions to come for negotiations the no work no pay rule would apply.

“Government will enforce the no work no pay rule in respect of all public sector employees who do not attend their duties as a result of the strike action,” he stated.

According top some reports, already some teachers had their salaries cut.

Dismissed public servants will lose terminal benefits

To rub salt in to the wound, public servants who might be dismissed as a result of the ongoing strike action might lose their terminal benefits.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr.Sibusiso Dlamini on Friday.

“Dismissed public servants will lose all terminal benefits as provided by existing regulations,” Dlamini warned. Dlamini reiterated that government had issued a number of statements relating to the ongoing industrial actions and had made all efforts to persuade the respective unions to come for negotiations, which attempts had not yielded any fruits.

He, however, said government was open for negotiations.

wishes

“Government wishes to make it clear that the negotiations forum is open and it welcomes the opportunity to resume discussions in a cooperative and productive manner to achieve a solution through dialogue,” Dlamini explained.

Schools may close

While admitting that it was regrettable, Prime Minister Dr.Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini said the dismissal of teachers of any school would risk jeopardising the operations of some schools, which would give rise to school closures.

fail

“Schools that will fail to open on Tuesday will be liable to closure,” Dlamini lamented.

In the same vein, Dlamini was grateful to those public servants who have continued to attend work and encouraged the public service to resume their normal duties without delay.

He assured that security would be upgraded in all schools and government buildings to protect public servants who will be working.

He warned that in addition to dismissal, those found intimidating workers that would have resumed their normal duties would face criminal prosecution.

It would be absurd - SNAT lawyer

Mandla Mkhwanazi, who represented both the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and the Swaziland National Association of Civil Servants (SNACS) in the case for the 4.5 % salary hike demand, said it would be sad if government would dismiss civil servants for exercising their rights.

Mkhwanazi stated that such could happen in a state where the rule of law was a thing of the past.

He said there was not a single word in the constitution that said people should be dismissed for exercising their constitutional right.

advised

He advised that before the civil servants and teachers were dismissed it would be proper to call them for hearing as the regulations dictated.

“It would be absurd if it reaches that stage before they are heard,” Mkhwanazi lamented.

Mkhwanazi argued that employees could not just be dismissed without being given the opportunity to state their side of the story.

SNAT leaders including, Sibongile Mazibuko ad Secretary General, Muzi Mhlanga, could not be reached for comment since their mobile numbers were not available on the network.