MBABANE - Thousands of South African trade union workers mounted a blockade on the Swaziland border yesterday in a strong show of solidarity with their Swazi counterparts as a national strike moves into its fifth week, writes Mary McCaughey.
Workers are calling for democratic reforms to this small country, which is one of the world's last remaining absolute monarchies. Riot police were despatched to the Oshoek, Pongola and Lomahasha border posts, where members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SWTU) forced back about three dozen trucks as they tried to cross the border. The one day blockade was largely peaceful but Swazi police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators.