Times Of Swaziland: PIRATES PLAYERS ON STRIKE AGAIN

PIRATES PLAYERS ON STRIKE AGAIN
================================================================================
BY PHOLSILE HLOPHE on 07/04/2021 07:43:00


MBABANE – No pay, no work.
It appears that the financial calamities in salary struggles for Moneni Pirates
are far from over. This comes after the players reportedly reached a consensus
decision to down tools soon after Monday’s 0-0 draw against Hub rivals Denver
Sundowns. Their major grievance being unpaid salaries for the past three months
as confirmed by the team’s captain Menzi Simelane, who was assigned to table
their complaints before the management committee soon after the match.
Admitted
Simelane disputed reports that they had been paid their pending salaries, but
admitted having only received E300 winning bonuses. “It’s true that we are
on strike and we will remain so until we get our salaries in full. We have had
enough empty promises so it’s either we get paid or we down our tools and not
play,” said an aggrieved Simelane. Amongst other issues, Simelane said the
current director, Nqobizitha Mlilo, had promised to pay them 50 per cent
salaries for January and February, a promise that never materialised despite
their obligations to cater for daily expenses and family responsibilities.
“The best thing is for us to stop playing because we are exhausting ourselves
for nothing. We agreed on the 50 per cent salary cut during the break, but we
got nothing. We understood the salary cut during the break, but now we are back
and we want our money in full,” said Simelane.
Confirmed
A source close to the matter also confirmed the players’ protest, claiming
that about 23 players received about 30 per cent of their pending salaries back
dated on November 2020. The source claimed that the money used to pay the
players was a share of their E17 000 incentive from the EswatiniBank Cup.
Efforts to get comments from Mlilo were in vain as he was reportedly engaged in
a meeting with the management committee until this publication went to print.
Amid all this commotion, Moneni Pirates is expected to honour their next fixture
against Tambuti. Meanwhile, Pirates has announced the official appointment of T.
Matse as the club’s Human Resources Manager and Tipho Shabalala as Finance
director in the club’s new structure.