Public Sector Workers Call on Eswatini Government to Honour the 2025 Collective Agreement

We express deep concerns regarding the use of force and armed security officers to deny workers and citizens their freedom of assembly, association and right to organise and demand improved conditions of service.

On October 15, 2025, the public sector unions signed a 2025 Salary Review Collective Agreement in Mbabane following weeks of pressure by the public service workers to address high inflation which had eroded salaries. According to this agreement, all workers in the public sector would start from notch 1, with a provision in the General Orders that guaranteed a notch every year until a worker reaches notch 5. These annual notches automatically raise a worker’s salary and this year’s notching was expected in April. Five months after signing the agreement, the Government has however indicated that it cannot afford to grant those notches until 2027.

To protest against this decision and to demand the implementation of their legitimate demands, workers mobilised to deliver petitions to the Ministry of Public Services but were blocked by heavy police presence and numerous road blocks. They also made other attempts to march to the Prime Minister’s Office to deliver their petition but again the police used force to disperse the march and thereby preventing them from getting to the offices. The police blocked all movement by public sector union leaders and these blockades are practically preventing workers from presenting their grievances to the authorities.  

The Government's actions after several negotiations not only undermine the integrity of collective bargaining but also erode trust between workers and the state. Collective agreements should be binding commitments that must be respected to maintain stable and harmonious labour relations.  

We call on the Government of Eswatini to: 

• Honour the collective agreement that they signed with workers in October 2025. 

• Respect and uphold the principles of good faith and social dialogue. 

• Guarantee the rights of workers to organise, assemble, and express their grievances without any fear of repression. 

• Eliminate the use of force to stop citizens from expressing their human rights and civil liberties.  

We would also like to reaffirm that the struggle by public service workers in Eswatini is to protect public service workers and safeguard public services.