Day 5 of the People’s Parliament at Ludzidzini Royal Kraal continued to escalate in vibrancy and introspective national debate, and drew in Labour and Social Security Lutfo Minister, Lutfo Dlamini who shared the official position on issues ranging from low wages to migrant mine workers’ benefits.
Dlamini explained that when salary negotiations were held, representatives of trade unions, employers and government sat together for negotiations, and agreed on a minimum wage, which was then forwarded to his Ministry to kick-start the process official publication in the Government gazette. He refuted allegations of unilateral decision-making on the part of Government, but acknowledged that employers who paid less than the minimum wage did exist and faced the wrath of the law.
(From Left to Right) Minister of Agriculture Clement Dlamini, Minister of Finance Majozi Sithole and Minister of Labour and Social Security Lutfo Dlamini at Sibaya.
Benefits to ex-miners were to headline discussions among Ministers of Labour and Health from South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho in September. E7 million had been set aside for the mine workers, he explained. He said all parties concerned needed to come together to discuss how this money could be used.
Addressing the issue of scholarships for tertiary education, the Minister explained that the available resources were too little to cater for the all the pupils who had been accepted, a problem exacerbated by the low rate at which previous beneficiaries paid their dues back to government. He mentioned that government had engaged a company that would help to recover the monies due from previous beneficiaries to increase the pool. Government was meanwhile exploring means to establish a Scholarship Fund that would operate independently of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.