Swazi Observer

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FINALLY: UBOMBO SUGAR WORKERS SUSPEND STRIKE

By Sifiso Nhlabatsi | 2021-11-17

After 47 days of engaging in an industrial action which later turned violent, Ubombo Sugar Limited workers have decided to suspend the strike and go back to work. The decision to temporarily suspend the industrial action was made after a meeting held by the Swaziland Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (SAPWU) yesterday.

Information gathered is that the company offered eight per cent which came with some conditions attached to it. The workers, through its union rejected the offer tabled by the company, stating that the negotiation process was strictly for wages and did not involve anything else.

The workers said the company was taking advantage of the situation because it was well aware that they were demanding 11.54 per cent, but it offered the eight per cent just to tempt them. The workers, through their union, decided that they wiould temporally suspend the industrial action while they explore other means to push their demands.

SAPWU Chairperson Malungisa Dlamini said as a union, they met yesterday after the company tabled an offer of eight per cent. Dlamini said the workers rejected the eight per cent offer. He said the industrial action was temporally suspended as the union was exploring other actions.

The decision to call off the strike comes after the company issued a statement saying it is reverting back to its previous offer of five per cent. In the statement released by the company yesterday, it stated that management continued to engage with the union over the wage dispute.

The company explained that this was done with the hope that a settlement was going to be reached in the matter. “On Thursday 11 November 2021, management tabled a revised conditional offer of 8 per cent over two years, which unfortunately the union did not accept,” the statement reads.

According to management, Ubombo Sugar has been engaging in good faith with SAPWU since the start of the 2021/22 wage/salary negotiations. The company pointed out that the deadline for the union’s response to the company’s conditional offer of eight per cent for two years was initially last Thursday and management agreed to open the offer again to expire on Friday. The company expressed its disappointment on the union’s failure to respond within the timelines that were set.

This according to Ubombo Limited meant that the company was reverting back to the five per cent final offer. The company condemned the destruction of property during protest actions. “Wage negotiations are an important part of the annual operating calendar and Ubombo recognises the value of the role negotiations play.

Considering the number of days this strike has taken, our primary concern currently is the welfare and livelihood of our employees and their dependants,” part of the statement from the company read. The company explained that it was hopeful that the union would accept the final offer so that the workers could get back to work.

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