TEXTILE WORKERS LOCKED OUT IN E400 000 RENT DISPUTE

MANZINI- The future of the over 200 textile employees remains bleak after their employer and the landlord failed to reach consensus regarding unpaid rent.

Following their employer’s instruction that SWM Manufacturer employees should report to work yesterday, with the hope that the rent issues would be solved, it turned out that the situation had not changed. The employees were first denied entry into their workplace on Monday morning due to that their employer owed rent for the building owned by kidnapped businessman Almor Oliviera. Yesterday’s developments were that the director’s father, who was lobbying on behalf of SWM, failed to get through to the landlord when he asked that he pays half of the rent owed. Information was that SWM owed E400 000 for rent since August 2017.

According to SWM representative Jeff Neveling, when engaging the landlord, she made it clear that half the money did not cut it, but stated that they would only access the property after the balance had been settled. This was the same feedback that the employees were told by Neveling. This response did not thrill the workers as they demanded to know their fate. They wanted to know whether they would be paid their wages and when the firm would reopen for business. “The feedback that the boss is giving us does not hold water. We are supposed to get paid this Friday, but it is clear that management does not have money right now. We have rent to pay as well, so we need something solid,” said the employees.

When asked about the fate of the company, Neveling said he could not guarantee that the firm would reopen, but it was his wish to see it up and running again. He said he was still to return to the company’s directors in Durban, to discuss how they would raise money for rent, as well as for paying the employees’ wages. Neveling said if all went well, he hoped to settle the owed rent by Friday so that by Tuesday all operations would be back to normal. The representative also mentioned the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) was also roped in to assist in getting the company back on its feet. “I seriously did not know that the firm owed rent and word was that there was no notice served before the closure was implemented,” Neveling said. Still dissatisfied, the employees engaged Labour officials, who were present when Neveling was addressing them and asked that he (Neveling) should make an undertaking on behalf of SWM, to assure them that their jobs would still be secured even after the rent was settled.

The workers further required that Neveling should agree to pay them their terminal benefits, should it happen that the firm remained closed for a period of 30 days from yesterday. “I can get it done. Employees may be paid their fortnight wages by latest Saturday,” Neveling told the Labour officials.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: