Eswatini - Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland not registered (2013)

Unions in the textile and apparel, mining, quarrying and related industries, and general manufacturing; metal workers; and unions in the engineering and retail, hospitality and catering sectors decided to merge in September 2013 to form the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA). Before launching its congress on 6 September 2013, the union filed its request for registration and its constitution with the Commissioner of Labour. The legal advisor of the Ministry met with the union leadership and asked for changes in the constitution. Even after complying with the requests, ATUSWA was not registered. On 2 January 2014, the union was told that it could only be registered if its constitution would be amended. The union duly responded and addressed those issues and clarified the basis upon which the application was founded. In a meeting on 4 April 2014 with the Commissioner of Labour, new issues were raised, including the name of the organisation. It was demanded that the word “amalgamated” be taken out, even though another union, the Swaziland Amalgamated Trade Union, had previously been registered without any concerns in this regard. This is one of the delaying tactics that have prevented the registration of ATUSWA for over nine months without any legitimate reason.