BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Government says it has already started working on setting the minimum wage for every worker in Eswatini.
This has been said by Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini in his speech that he was supposed to deliver today at Prince of Wales Sports Ground, during the celebrations of the Workers’ Day.
However, Dlamini could not deliver his speech, as his efforts to do so were sabotaged by some workers, in collaboration with members of some political parties that had attended the event.
In his speech, the premier said Government had looked into the issue of the minimum wage. He said the commitment was aligned with the Decent Country Work Programme (DCWP) for 2022 to 2025. According to Dlamini, this programme was adopted by Cabinet and publicly launched on November 17, 2022.
At the time, the document was signed by former Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini. According to the premier, this demonstrated that Government wanted decent work for every worker in the country.
He said the Ministry of Health had been mandated to come up with the national health insurance programme. On the other hand, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security were working on various social security programmes for every Liswati to benefit.
The PM said, in his speech, that they did this because they recognised that workers were the one who created the economy of this country. He further mentioned that Cabinet ministers, including the prime minister and his deputy, were workers.
It was for this reason why they also had workers’ interests at heart. Dlamini stated that they could not be in a position to offer heaven and earth to workers, but he wished for workers to work with Government to ensure that their aspirations were fulfilled.
