Swaziland: Government hopes amended labour law will save AGOA
Swaziland's Minister of Labour and Social Security Winnie Magagula has explained the importance of the Industrial Relations (Amended) Bill to be passed in Parliament as it would play an important role regarding the AGOA threat [of non-renewal for Swaziland].
Magagula stated in Parliament that the Industrial Relations Act was one of the few pointed areas which the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had said needed to be addressed by the country. This followed the lack of a provision for the registration of federations by government.
She explained though that government did recognise federations such as TUCOSWA and what was left was their registration. The minister, on Monday presented the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act of 2014 which addresses the concerns raised by ILO.
What the Bill says:
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2014
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act, 2014 and shall be read as one with the Industrial Relations Act, 2000 (Herein after referred to as the ‘principal Act’).
(2)This Act shall come into force on the date of publication in the government Gazette
Amendment of Section 26
2. Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (3), new subsections (4) and (5) as follows-
“(4) A federation of trade unions and staff associations, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have been formed on the date on which two or more trade unions or staff associations, as the case may be, agree in writing, to form that federation.
(5) A federation of employers shall be deemed to have been formed on the date on which two or more employer organisations, agree in writing top form such a federation.”