It could just be season for industrial action

(The Government has applied to court to temporarily put a stop to industrial strikes until elections)

Court clerk: All silence! The court of his Lordship Judge Mbadwa is now in session.

Judge Mbadwa:  This tribunal is today hearing an application from Nyasaland’s Attorney General. The court invites the honourable Attorney General Trouble Nkhakamira, who wants the court to order suspension of industrial strikes, to make his submission.

Nkhakamira: My Lord, I will go to the substantive issue of our application. You have noted that there has been an unprecedented increase in industrial action by employees of ministries, departments and agencies, asking for an increase in salaries and a review of their conditions of service.

My lord, we agree that it is within their rights that employees can seek redress in a labour dispute through an industrial action, but it is our submission that such actions should not be allowed with only a few months remaining before next tripartite elections because we are vulnerable at this stage.

My lord, you have noted that employees in your own tribunal have resorted to industrial action while others in public health facilities have already notified the Executive of their intention to follow the path their colleagues at the Judiciary have taken.

My lord, we feel the government is not ready to handle labour disputes involving its employees because it feels the striking employees are taking advantage of our weak bargaining position.

We find ourselves in a situation where we have to bow to the wishes of the striking employees because failing to do so would fuel more industrial actions, something the opposition would jump at.

We have to prevent that ripple effect, my lord, because we currently don’t have money for elections’ preparatory work. The only money we have is for presidential trips within and without the country and we cannot touch that.

My lord, we also pray that the court will take into consideration the fact that all civil servants are effectively declared to be involved in essential services because in one way or another, they can endanger lives, health or personal safety of the citizens if they go on strike.

We, therefore, pray that this court should immediately suspend the strikes until a month after voting had taken place. I rest my case.

Mbadwa: Honourabe Attorney General, though the civil servants are not represented, this court will still address the matter.

The issues which the striking employees are addressing concern contractual agreement with the employer and in this case, the Executive has failed to honour its own agreement despite several legal avenues to address the same.

This tribunal cannot suspend the strikes or set a timeframe for conducting industrial actions based on a warped argument that tolerating one strike would lead to a ripple effect in government. It is not the issue about timing but disputes which the Executive allowed to stall.

This tribunal does not think that the government is vulnerable because it entered into a contract with the employees which it must honour. If this is the right time to force the government to give the employees their dues, why not take advantage of the same.

Case dismissed with costs.