CHIEF MAGUDVULELA WANTS OVER E250 000 FROM SEC

MBABANE – Appointed Member of Parliament (MP) Chief Magudvulela is demanding over E250 000 from the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC).

The chief, who is also a prince, is a former employee of SEC.
Through his attorney Sikhumbuzo Simelane, Dlamini has taken the company to the Industrial Court where he is, inter alia, seeking an order declaring the unpaid leave allegedly imposed by SEC to him in October 2008 as unlawful and constituting unfair labour practice.

He further wants SEC to be ordered to forthwith pay him his arrear salaries for the period of January 2009 up to March 2010, calculated at the monthly rate of E17 778.00 in the total sum of E266 670.
Giving a brief background of the matter, the chief stated that he was employed by the company on February 1, 1984 and he remained in continuous service up until March 31, 2010 when he entered into a voluntary early retirement agreement with SEC.
He said prior to the termination of his employment on March 31, 2010, he had been appointed  by His Majesty  King Mswati III to serve the Swaziland Government as senator in the 9th Parliament, effective from October 2008.

“My appointment to Senate, did not terminate my employment in the respondent (SEC) so much that I continued to report for duty throughout the period October 2008 (the effective month of my employment) up to and inclusive of March 2010 when the voluntary early retirement agreement was concluded and executed by both parties,” alleged the chief.

Chief Magudvulela further submitted that the company adopted and subjected him to unfair labour practices from January 2009 up to March 2010 in that it purportedly placed him on unpaid leave.  According to the chief, this was done without prior consultation and the company further withheld and refused to pay his monthly salaries.

“When I continuously demanded that my salaries should be paid, I was sent from pillar to post by the respondent’s management and I was eventually told that I was not being paid because I had been appointed a senator and placed on unpaid leave by the respondent,” contended the prince.
He mentioned that soon after the publication of his appointment as  a Senator on or about October 2008, SEC unilaterally decided to publish a notice in the local newspapers congratulating him for the appointment.
“What puzzled me in that newspaper publication was that SEC referred me as a ‘former colleague’  and I got the impression that the respondent had unilaterally decided to terminate my services,” alleged the legislator.

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