SWAZI PUBLIC SERVICE LAY-OFFS CHALLENGED

SWAZILAND’s civil service union has vowed to fight government plans to shed about 5500 workers as part of its economic reform programme. The government calls them “daily-paid workers”, and says they must go to cut a bloated civil service that swallows more than 40% of state expenditure. But union president Elliot Mkhatshwa said on Wednesday many of the targeted employees are full-time staff who have been on the payroll for up to 20 years. Unionists are lobbying King Mswati III to try and block planned retrenchments.