PSI Organizes the Eswatini National Political School in Mpumalanga

Background to the Political School 

Eswatini is a highly undemocratic country as political organizations (parties), processions and all forms of political assemblies remain effectively banned under the King’s Proclamation of 1973 and the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act. These highly restrictive legislations adversely affect even the normal operations of trade unions; and this is especially confirmed by the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index Report, which identifies Eswatini as one of the ten (10) worst countries for workers. For this reason, the political school had to be organized outside the country in order to ensure it proceeds uninterrupted until its logical end. 

The National Political School is an outcome of discussions between leaders of the three affiliates in Eswatini—the National Workers Union of Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI), the National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) and the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and the PSI Southern Africa Sub-Regional Office (SASRO) on the need for trade unions to identify and occupy space in the country’s transformation agenda, considering the history of human and worker rights violations in the country.

Purpose and Objectives of the Political School

The key objective of this activity was to empower participants to understand direct democracy, in comparison to representative democracy; as well as seeking to ensure leaders appreciate the meaning and practice of worker control. Further, the school provided an opportunity for leaders to learn from other forms of organizations and other struggles that meaningfully improved the livelihoods of workers in other countries, especially neighbouring South Africa.

The theme of the school was “Workers’ Control and Democracy Now”. It was facilitated by Dale McKinley and Shawn Hattingh of the International Labour Resource and Information Group (ILRIG), based in Cape Town, South Africa. ILRIG is an activists think-tank dedicated to building working class power through popular education, self-organizing and resistance; and it not only works with organized labour but also civic organizations that confront the basis of exploitation, oppression and continued repression in South Africa and beyond. 

Leaders from the three PSI affiliates in Eswatini drew 29 leaders (15 women and 14 men) from the tertiary education sector, health and nursing fraternity, national/civil administration sector, who converged in Mpumalanga on the 23rd June 2025 for the National Political School. Leaders deliberated on how best they can improve internal democracy within their unions, to enhance worker control for an improved public service. The program is jointly implemented by PSI, the Finnish Solidarity Centre (SASK) and local unions in Eswatini.  

For workers and the broader Swazi community, any form of democracy without fundamental economic emancipation; without the complete ownership and control of the means of production is neither sustainable nor democratic.

Key Discussions and Outcomes

The various unions interacted deeply on the key things their unions are fighting for, as well as the challenges they face as they advance union objectives. Of all the external challenges that confronts unions, the pertinent ones include: persistent victimization of workers and union activists; continuation of fixed-term contracts (which are often weaponized against some workers and active unionists); outsourcing of certain departments, altering terms of employment and conditions; redundancies and imminent lay-offs caused by unilateral workplace restructuring; increased political interference by the authorities in the country (especially in the tertiary education sector); escalating corruption in the public service, which affects the delivery of quality public services; continued union repression; as well as the complete disregard of the recognition of trade unions, including perpetual violation of key legislative provisions in the country’s labour laws by government and employers. 

Internally, leaders acknowledged the long journey that still needs to be taken to address the diminishing organizational democracy within unions, as well as the inherent challenges associated with the dominant organizational models trade unions currently practice, which are largely inspired by the representative (as opposed to direct) forms of democracy. Factional struggles within the unions; low capacity within members and leaders to fully understand their roles and the aims of the unions, are some of the primary challenges unions face. 

The Facilitators traced the colonialist and post-colonialist periods of the trajectory of the Swazi economy, identifying the key features in these different epochs. As the Facilitators did so, leaders expressed their appreciation of the session’s contribution in laying bare the intricate connection between the evolution of the economy and the political absolutism by the royal elite under the tinkhundla system. 

In the context of the country’s history, the Facilitators were able to trace how the political and public administrative machinery of the country is a function of the concessions between the British colonialists and the traditional ruling elite (largely royal) when the former handed over power in 1968. The connection is crucial for public service workers and trade unionists so that they may be informed of how the political system, the public administrative machinery and the economy connect, and how workers become subjugated. Without workers directly engaging with and benefiting from the economy of the country, that would amount to no democracy at all.

“For workers and the broader Swazi community, any form of democracy without fundamental economic emancipation; without the complete ownership and control of the means of production is neither sustainable nor democratic. It is in such contexts that public service and other workers find themselves continuously facing all-round attacks from a government representing other class interests and not of their own, even in celebrated democracies like South Africa”  - Dale McKinley, ILRIG     

Leaders expressed their deep appreciation of the content provided in the workshop, especially on the concept and application of worker control. One leader stated that the notion of worker control helps them to think of ways they would identify leverage or pressure points to ensure that the power of workers is not only recognized but also respected (and felt), especially in the public service, particularly through building workers’ power within the unions. Another leader stressed that the experiences of the Simunye Workers’ Forum, for instance, specifically enhanced her understanding of the link between how workers (as members of the unions) can play an increasingly meaningful role in transforming their working lives and stop relying on a few elected or nominated representatives (direct versus representative democracy). In conclusion, Facilitators opened up a discussion in which leaders deliberated on the key lessons coming out of the school, and what that means for unions and workers in the country going forward. 

Lessons for Public Service Unions in Eswatini

In the ever-changing external environments (politically, socio-economically and culturally), trade unions find themselves in critical positions to defend their members’ interests in a timely manner. However, not all of these responses are adequate; at times they fall short and workers find themselves at the receiving end of such brutal attacks against them and their jobs. In strengthening democracy within trade unions, leaders acknowledged the need for further training and deeper insights into how worker control would best be adapted in the context of Eswatini. They also expressed the need for the public sector to build mass workers’ power, create alliances between trade unions, civic organizations and communities, and to promote the culture and practice of democracy in Swazi society.

This article is written by Percy Masuku, Labour Researcher & Educator based in Eswatini.