Mass work stoppage planned
2005-01-03 20:07
Mbabane - Swaziland's labour movement on Monday said it planned a two-day stay-away later this month to press for political reforms from Africa's last absolute monarchy.
The umbrella Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), which claims a membership of around 80$nbsp;000 out of some 200 000 workers, said the protest strike is to be held on January 25 and 26.
"We want the king to allow democratic reforms ... and a commitment to social dialogue in all policy formulation processes and an all-inclusive constitution-making process," Jan Sithole, secretary general of the SFTU, told AFP.
King Mswati III rules by decree and the political opposition - although active - remains banned in the small kingdom of 1.2 million people wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.
Under pressure from international donors and the local opposition, Mswati last year released a draft constitution that kept the monarch's sweeping powers intact, bitterly disappointing advocates of change.
Following public consultations late last year, the draft was submitted to parliament which has yet to approve the new fundamental charter.
Mswati has also been criticised for his extravangant lifestyle including the recent purchase of a half-a-million-dollar sedan in a country with grinding poverty and the world's highest rate of HIV and AIDS at 38%.