Eswatini - Violations in the transport sector (2013)

In December 2013, the Swaziland Transport and Allied Workers Union (STAWU) organised lawful and protected industrial action at the Matsapha International Airport in a pay dispute with the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority. Following that action, five STAWU union leaders, including General Secretary Simanga Shongwe, were served with notice of intended prosecution under the Road Traffic Act of 2007 for holding a union gathering in the airport car park. These charges still hang over them today. What is quite remarkable about these charges is that the Road Traffic Act applies to offences on public highways and the airport car park definitely does not fall into that category. In an apparent response to the airport strike, the Civil Aviation Authority made an application to the government’s Essential Services Committee in January 2014 for a wide range of airport services to be classified as essential services. This would bring these airport staff under special legislation restricting their right to take industrial action even further.