By Mbono Mdluli
MBABANE – Civil servants will smile all the way to the bank, as they are expected to receive a bumper pay this month.
The civil servants’ salaries will be increased by four percent from this month. This is not enough because they are expected to also get a back-pay of the other four percents from April 1, 2024. This comes after the civil servants, through their Public Sector Unions (PSUs), have agreed on an increased Cost of Living Adjustment (CoLA) of four percent. The PSUs signed this agreement during a Joint Negotiation Forum (JNF) they had today (Wednesday, July 3, 2024) with the Government Negotiating Team (GNT).
The GNT was led by Secretary to Cabinet Victor Nxumalo and Ministry of Public Service Principal Secretary (PS) Sipho Tsabedze. The PSUs included Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Unions (SWADNU), and Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).
SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini confirmed that they signed the CoLA of four percent. He said they initially wanted a CoLA of 7.2 percent and Government had offered three percent. He said upon negotiating with the GNT at the JNF, they agreed on the four percent. Dlamini said it became clear to them that Government could not go above the four percent, hence they gave in to the offer.
He said among their members as PSUs, some accepted the offer from Government and some felt the PSUs should have continued to corner the GNT to give a better offer. Dlamini said it was acceptable for them because the four percent was closer to the inflation rate, which was around 4.5 percent. Dlamini said the purpose of CoLA was to cushion workers against inflation, which eroded their buying power on the market, making their lives difficult, as a result.
The SNAT president mentioned that they had asked for 7.2 percent because since 2018, they had been offered and made to sign for something that was way below the inflation rate at the time. Therefore, their lives had been difficult, as a result. He said they accepted the four percent because they also wanted to continue with other items on the agenda of their meeting. The other items included things such as allowances for civil servants and the salary review.
Dlamini said they hoped that the salary review would help them in catering for the concerns they had concerning their salaries. Ministry of Public Service Principal Secretary (PS) Sipho Tsabedze confirmed that the civil servants and Government agreed on the four percent. He said the GNT had offered three percent , while the civil servants wanted 7.2 percent. At the end, the two parties, according to Tsabedze, saw that they should agree on the four percent.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko appointed Emergence Growth Consultancy from South Africa and Umelusi Management Consultancy to do the salary review exercise for the next 12 months.
The last review was conducted in 2016 and the next one was due in the financial year 2021/22. However, due to Government’s fiscal and economic situation, including the Covid 19 pandemic, the exercise could not commence as planned. In the financial year 2023/24, Government allocated a budget for a consultant to carry out the Salary Review Exercise.
