An international delegation of union leaders – including Metro Washington Council president Jos Williams -- traveling in Swaziland last week called on the government to guarantee the rights of workers to freely form unions and exercise freedom of speech and assembly. “The government must meet the demands” of the International Trade Union Confederation, Williams said. Delegation members also sought to visit political prisoners, some of whom have been held for two years. So far, says Williams, they “have gotten the run-around” in efforts “to see our comrades in jail and look at the conditions.” (You can sign a LaborStart petition demanding their release. If you tweet, use the hashtag #SwaziJustice.) Given the level of harassment and repression, Williams says he “came here seeking to encourage” union leaders, but instead found that “they are standing tall in the face of adversity.”
- Tula Connell, reporting on the Solidarity Center website. photo: Trade Union Congress of Swaziland Secretary-General Vincent Ncongwane (seen here at a 2014 rally in Washington, D.C.), says the Swaziland government continues to repress unions, despite its public statements. Credit: Solidarity Center/Kate Conradt
- Tula Connell, reporting on the Solidarity Center website. photo: Trade Union Congress of Swaziland Secretary-General Vincent Ncongwane (seen here at a 2014 rally in Washington, D.C.), says the Swaziland government continues to repress unions, despite its public statements. Credit: Solidarity Center/Kate Conradt