Big W. Samoa strike ends, leaving

shock waves for the future

The historic strike by Western Samoa’s public servants has ended in a considerable success for the strikers. The article below outlines their gains, and presents certain views of Western Samoans on the strike’s likely future effects on their society.

After almost 90 days, the West ern Samoa public servants’ strike (PIM Jul pi 3) ended on July 2.

The result can only be seen as a success for the striking workers, since the salary rises granted were generally far greater than the government had originally offered. Whereas an 8% rise, to be implemented in two stages with a six-months interval, had been proposed by the government in its 1981 budget, the recommendations of the government-appointed commission of inquiry, which served as the basis for the strike settlement, provided for: a 36% rise for workers on salaries of SWS7BB; 27% for those on $930; 12.44% for those on $2010; and increases ranging from 6.25% to 7.32% for those receiving up to $3965.

Those earning $4llO-$6510 a year will get rises of 6%, and above the $6710 level, 5%.

Most of the public servants 4252 are on the salary scale of $7BB-$2OlO. Six hun dred and fifty-three are on $2120-$2675 a year, 356 are on $2795-$3285, 364 on $3415-$3965, 456 on $4llO-$6510, and 75 on $6710 and above.

Announcing the increases, kvhich are expected to cost more :han $2 000 000, the govern nent also foreshadowed the vays in which it planned to •aise the revenue to pay for hem. These included establish nent of a wharf departure tax )f $1 per person, collection of additional income tax following he increases, increasing the lirport departure tax from $3 to 55, increasing outpatients’ fees n public hospitals from 100 to increasing duty on all lutiable items, and philatelic pecial sales. Government ana ysts reckon the increased rev :nue from these measures will ipproximately cover the cost of he increased public service alaries.

The question a vexed one throughout the strike of reinstatement of striking public servants appears to have been satisfactorily resolved, although some loose ends remained to be tied up as the strike ended. A key factor in the settlement was the last-minute agreement by the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Esekia Solofa, to reinstate all strikers.

On July 1, the day before the planned return to work, it was learned that 207 of the total of 3340 applications for reinstate ment which had been made had still not been processed. Mr Solofa, in an emergency meet ing with the executive council of the Public Service Associ ation, assured them that there would be no problem with the outstanding 207 cases. On that basis, the PSA leaders an nounced at a general meeting of the PSA that all strikers should return to work on July 2.

Most interest now centres on the longer-term effects of the strike on Western Samoa’s pol itical, economic and social scene for effects there will certainly be.

Writing for PIM, from Apia before the settlement was reached, prominent journalist Felise Va’a, English-language editor of the weekly The Samoa Times, declared; ‘lf you were in Western Samoa during the time of the strike by Western Samoan pub lic servants, you were likely to take either a pro-government or pro-PSA view. ‘ln rather mild terms, you were likely to accuse the PSA of callousness towards the public welfare, or government of fail ing to resolve the legitimate interests of the public servants. ‘But one thing became in creasingly clear as the strike wore on: probably no other issue has so divided the nation since the 1926-1936 Mau movement as the PSA strike which began on April 6.’ (The Mau move

ment of protest against New Zealand maladministration laid much of the groundwork for the achievement of independence by Western Samoa in 1962, the first Pacific Island country to do so.) Felise Va’a continued: ‘Space will not allow for a thorough discussion of the sociological, economic and political causes and effects of the strike. ‘Suffice it to say that it has crippled the Western Samoan government services and econ omy, and that it may take years to get the economy back right again. ‘Since government has already lost millions in revenues as a result of the strike, it can be predicted that a serious de pression will hit the economy for the rest of this year and next, and possibly into 1983. ‘Socially, the strike has had a disruptive effect in human re lationships. Families are div ided bitterly so. A key PSA official is the brother of a cabinet minister, and so on. ‘Politically, the strike threatens to shatter the fortunes of Tupuola Efi’s political party, and of Tupuola himself. ‘So strong is the resentment felt by strikers and their rela tives towards government, and of government towards strikers and their supporters, that for many years bitter feelings and memories will persist in a country once thought to be the most stable in the world, socially, economically and pol itically. ‘All that is now in the past. It appears that, for now, Western Samoa is headed for a period of reactionary politics.’

This gloomy view of the future is not entirely supported by comments from a recent visitor to Apia who was inter viewed by PIM in Sydney shortly after his return in mid- July.

This gentleman, himself Western Samoan, noted the

almost festive atmosphere pre vailing at PSA strike meetings in Apia. ‘People would set out from home in the mornings as if they were going to work, but instead they would sit around in the parks, have picnic lunches, concerts and other social activi ties,’ he said. ‘One had the feeling that there was no en trenched bitterness about them.

It seemed that the good nature of the Samoan people was prevailing over the tensions generated by the strike.’

Where he felt a possible long term danger lay was in the fact that the government had sought to break the strike by attempt ing to enlist the matai to use their social standing to influence strikers to go back to work.

This had caused great dis sent, not least among the matai themselves. ‘There is a general feeling among the matai that they had abrogated part of their traditional rights in the name of nationalism at the time of independence. They feel it is unfair of the government now to attempt to involve them in the affairs of the national state. ‘Some matai co-operated with the government, and this in turn caused anger among the strikers and their supporters.

They saw themselves as trade unionists operating in a modern state and dealing with its gov ernment. They resented the attempt to use traditional authorities to influence them in their industrial action,’ said the visitor. ‘Other matai refused to have anything to do with the govern ment’s request. This too has its dangers, affecting as it does the existing balances of authority in Western Samoa’s society.’

Whatever the eventual effects of the strike may be, it seems clear that the country will never be quite the same after the public service strike of April-July 1981.