Swazi Observer

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TUCOSWA HAILS KING

By Sifiso Nhlabatsi | 2019-06-13

His Majesty King Mswati III’s attendance to the International Labour Conference in Geneva has been viewed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) as recognition and a renewed commitment by the kingdom to the values and objectives of the International Labour Organisation.

In a statement by TUCOSWA Secretariat, the federation said the participation of the King has been welcomed by the Federation, as well as the entire organised workers of the world. “We view his attendance as recognition and a renewed commitment by the Kingdom of Eswatini to the values and objectives of the International Labour Organisation. This was a direct renewal of the vows that the country took when it joined the ILO in 1975,” part of the statement reads.

Presence

This conference has been hailed by TUCOSWA as the biggest since the establishment of the ILO, with an estimated 6 000 delegates as opposed to the usual slightly above 3 000 delegates in the past years.

This conference, according to TUCOSWA, was honoured by the presence of more than 25 Heads of State and it had a lot of firsts, amongst them being the presence of His Majesty King Mswati III, who was attending the International Labour Conference for the first time.

TUCOSWA made it clear that they were pleased to hear His Majesty the King in his address to the conference, re-affirmation and restating that universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice.

TUCOSWA Secretariat said the commitment for the repositioning and the ultimate intended re-launch of the Social Dialogue, specifically pronounced at the highest level ,gives them hope that issues affecting the labour market and all its players will now be attended to with rejuvenated power.

TUCOSWA said it being a creature of collective bargaining, unreservedly welcome the intended initiative and they shall see through its realisation.

Challenges

The organisation noted that His Majesty the King further committed the country to an ILO Voluntary Assessment Programme and to them this was a command to social partners, specifically the government who is the overall supervisor, to make sure that as a country, Eswatini must adhere to the expected standards of the ILO and in haste move towards mending the ways on any outstanding issues and further put in place mechanisms to manage any possible future challenges. TUCOSWA Secretariat said the command by His Majesty the King for the opening of a new page in the industrial relations sphere was well received, and it was so loud and encouraged the federation to continue to represent the interest of its members without being intimidated by the employers and the government as has been in the past.

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