By Nokunceda Magagula | 2024-10-30

Business Eswatini (BE) has highlighted the urgent need for dialogue between BE and minister of labour and social security in light of ongoing debacle on BE withdrawing as a member of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) Speaking to Markert View, Dlamini emphasised the importance of finding common ground in a country that prides itself on its legal framework.

He expressed frustration over the lack of communication with government officials, particularly the minister of labour and social security. “We have asked the minister numerous times to open the door and hear our concerns in line with the spirit of the UN Conventions, if he could just listen for an hour, I can guarantee that many of our issues would be resolved,” he said. He characterised the current situation as a whole lot of nothing that they were fighting about, despite its critical nature for employers.

Dlamini noted that Eswatini was a country of laws, pointing out that all operations within the LAB were guided by the Industrial Relations Act. He noted that this Act was informed by international standards, particularly UN conventions, including Convention 144, which was ratified by Eswatini and integrated into local legislation. “This convention is quite unambiguous, the first article outlines who should be part of the tripartite dialogue, including organisations like the EP and Apex Organization. The subsequent articles clarify how this tripartite should function, emphasizing the need for consensus,” he said.

Dlamini underscored the significance of Articles three and four, which addressed both consensus and the administrative responsibilities of a competent entity “The question we must ask is, who is this competent entity? If it’s not BE, then is it the unions or the government? We firmly believe it is the government that holds this responsibility,” he said. He added that even though they don’t complain, it doesn’t mean we they are not hurting. “For the first time in our 116-year history, we have refrained from voicing our grievances.

This isn’t because we have had it good, but because we’ve prioritised the economic agenda of this country over our own discomfort.” Damini urged all parties involved to prioritise the national interest over personal feelings or egos. “It’s crucial for everyone to make their feelings subservient to the national agenda,” he concluded. “We need collaboration and understanding to move forward,” he said. The CEO sentiments comes after the ministry of labour and social security stated that BE been said had not formally submitted a final withdrawal letter from the labour Advisory Board (LAB) to the ministry of labour and social security. Instead, it has only provided letters indicating its consideration of withdrawal, raising questions about the organisation's intentions. This was after comes after BE, which is a representative of more than 80 per cent of the private sector in Eswatini, reportedly withdrew its participation in the Labour Advisory Board (LAB).

The LAB is a tripartite body which is composed of government, employers and workers and is established in terms of Part III of the Industrial Relations Act No. 1 of 2000. The ministry of labour and social security clarified the situation, stating, they had received a formal letter indicating that BE was withdrawing from the board, but only received a letters where they express consideration of withdrawal, alongside a notification of their non-attendance at the meeting called by the minister.

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