2010 Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights – Swaziland

Population: 1,100,000
Capital: Mbabane
ILO Core Conventions Ratified: 29 – 87 – 98 – 100 – 105 – 111 – 138 – 182

Trade union rights are restricted, and lawful collective action is virtually impossible. The country’s highly respected trade union leader, Jan Sithole, continued to face harassment, including death threats. Bank workers’ collective bargaining demands were continually ignored.

Trade union rights in law

Trade unions face a harsh legal environment. The 2006 Constitution entrenches the State of Emergency in force since 1973, which suspends constitutional freedoms. It also invests all power in the King’s hands, bans opposition political parties and meetings, and gives the government the ultimate executive, judicial and legislative authority. Workers in export processing zones are exempted from freedom of association. To obtain recognition, a union must represent at least 50% of the workers in a given workplace, or be voluntarily recognised by the employer.

Collective bargaining is allowed by virtue of the Industrial Relations Act. Furthermore, the right to strike is severely limited, as the procedures for voting on strike action are complex and the procedures for announcing a strike are very long, lasting up to 74 days. Trade unions also face civil liability for any damage caused during a strike. The list of “essential services” exceeds the ILO definition.

Trade union rights in practice and violations in 2009

Background: Political parties remain banned and the country has been in State of Emergency for over 35 years. Unemployment is widespread, about 70% of the population live below the poverty line and the country has the world’s highest rate of HIV infection. Swazilad Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) official, Sibusiso Mashaya ,was murdered in May by a local gang, although it appeared to be criminal violence not directly related to his trade union activity. In September, the leader of the opposition PUDEMO party, Mario Masuki, was released from prison, after being detained since November 2008 under anti-terror laws.

Repression in the textile sector: The textile sector has become notorious for its anti-labour and anti-union practices, particularly foreign-owned companies, principally from Taiwan, who employ a mainly female workforce. Any protests about their poor working conditions are dealt with severely. In March 2008, police intervened against thousands of textile workers engaged in a legal strike to demand higher wages. The workers, mainly women, were hit with tear gas canisters, beaten heavily with batons and shot at with what were suspect to be live rounds.

Trade unions under fire: In the absence of any credible political opposition, trade unions in Swaziland have been in the forefront of efforts to promote democracy. As a result, they have been a target of constant harassment and repression. Union leaders have been arrested, protesters beaten and political parties banned. Speaking at the International Labour Conference in June, the General Secretary of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), Jan Sithole reported that he had been a victim of police harassment and arrests, and that he and his family have been receiving death threats. At the end of its proceedings, the Conference’s Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the ILO devoted a special paragraph to Swaziland in its report, a measure reserved for the worst cases of rights violations.

Unions still refused recognition: The authorities have continued to refuse recognition to the Swaziland Police Association (SPA) and the Swaziland Correctional Service Union (SWACU). Additionally, union activity is not effectively protected against employers’ interference, although the law protects unions from governmental interference. It has been reported that employers’ interference with workers’ councils has contributed to the failure of some trade unions to negotiate collective agreements. Furthermore, there are reports that some employers dictate which decisions are taken in the workers’ councils.

Bank obstructs collective bargaining: By the end of July, SWAZIBANK and Swaziland Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (SUFIAW) had been re-negotiating their collective agreement since September 2007. The bank was expected to produce and deliver a counter proposal to the union’s draft collective agreement on or about 29 April, 2009. The bank did not deliver the counter proposal as expected. At a further meeting on July 29, when no counter proposal was on the table, the union decided to refer the matter to the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC). The Industrial Court later ordered both sides back to the negotiating table, urging them to bargain in good faith.

source: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=4c4fec5728&skip=0&coi=SWZ&querysi=trade&searchin=title&display=10&sort=date

2009 Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights – Swaziland

Population: 1,100,000
Capital: Mbabane
ILO Core Conventions Ratified: 29 – 87 – 98 – 100 – 105 – 111 – 138 – 182

One of the largest strikes in recent years, in the textile sector, was brutally repressed by the police. Trade union leaders are subjected to constant harassment.

Trade union rights in law

State of emergency still in force: The State of Emergency, introduced in 1973, suspended constitutional freedoms.

The 2006 Constitution, which entrenches the political status in force since 1973, invests all power in the King’s hands, bans opposition political parties and meetings, and gives the government the ultimate executive, judicial and legislative authority. The Constitution also constitutes a threat to trade union rights, since the notion of breaching state security can be interpreted very broadly.

Many legal restrictions: The current Industrial Relations Act (IRA) allows workers, apart from those employed in the export processing zones (EPZs), to form trade unions, to draw up their own constitutions, and to negotiate their terms and conditions of employment. Members of the police are not allowed to form unions.

However, unions must represent at least 50 per cent of workers in a workplace to ensure recognition, (an unreasonably high percentage), and failure of this test leads to recognition being dependent on the employer’s goodwill. There is also no effective protection for trade unions against employer interference.

Right to strike – collective action is virtually impossible: The procedure for announcing a strike is long, lasting up to 74 days, and the procedures for voting on strike action are complex, thus making legal strikes virtually impossible. Should a strike take place, the trade union faces civil liability for any damage caused during a strike.

The IRA prohibits protest actions in “essential services”, which include police and security forces, correctional services, fire fighting, health and many civil service positions.

Government fails to fulfil its promise to bring in improved labour legislation: Repeated government assurances to the ILO that it will amend its legislation to bring it in line with international labour standards have so far proved meaningless.

Trade union rights in practice and violations in 2008

Background: The parliamentary elections in September, which were not open to any political party, gave rise to more protests. The extravagant lifestyle of the royal family is increasingly contested in a country where two-thirds of the population lives in dire poverty and the rate of HIV/AIDS infection (around 40%) is the highest in the world.

Refusal to recognise two unions: The authorities continued to refuse to recognise the Swaziland Police Association (SPA) and the Swaziland Correctional Service Union (SWACU), although the new Constitution had opened up this possibility through allowing all workers to form and join trade unions.

Numerous violations in textile factories: Violations are common in textile companies, and the abuses appear to be committed with the collusion of government authorities. On 5 March, a dozen workers from the textile sector were injured by the police in the Matsapha industrial zone in Manzini. Police used tear gas and beat the demonstrators, who were marching peacefully. According to the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (SMAWU), the employers gave instructions to the police to repress the demonstrators, although the march had been authorised by the competent authorities. The strike had started on 3 March and involved over 16,000 workers, mostly women. Their demands were for a wage rise but also for an end to the brutal and disrespectful behaviour of the employers, who were mainly Taiwanese investors. In February, the SMAWU had denounced the action of the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission, which had done all it could to prevent the smooth operation of the strike vote, thereby showing blatant favouritism towards the Swaziland Textile Exporters Association (STEA). The workers had also been threatened with dismissal if they voted to strike.

Repeated arrests of union leaders: For several years now the top trade union leaders have been in the sights of the authorities. Jan Sithole, the General Secretary of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), was arrested twice in 2008, for instance. On 21 August he was arrested, by more than 30 police officers, after taking part in a demonstration by unions and civil society organisations to protest against the participation of the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, and the King of Swaziland, Mswati III, at a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Johannesburg. On 18 September, on the eve of the undemocratic parliamentary elections, Jan Sithole was again arrested, this time along with several other trade union and political leaders; they were on their way to the border between Swaziland and South Africa to protest against the deterioration of the political, economic and social situation.

Job insecurity: The regime ignored the deregulation measures taken by employers to make jobs less secure. Many skilled workers, most of whom are union members, have lost their jobs as a result of this. This type of policy has weakened trade unions in the sugar industry and the hotel sector.

source: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=4c52cac8c&skip=0&coi=SWZ&querysi=trade&searchin=title&display=10&sort=date