EARLY XMAS FOR SMVAF STAFF

 MBABANE – It will be an early Christmas for employees of Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF).

The Industrial Court yesterday ordered the fund to review employees’ salaries using the method contained in the Memorandum of Agreement signed by the parties. 
SMVAF has been ordered to comply with the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement within 30 days of the issuance of the judgment.

Wrong

Acting Industrial Court Judge Manene Thwala found that things started going wrong during implementation when the cost of the exercise exceeded the limit that had been approved by the minister.

He said this was where SMVAF then acted capriciously and started to effect the salary review using a method not agreed upon between the parties
“We hold, therefore, that the respondent (SMVAF) did solicit for and obtain the necessary approval before undertaking the Salary Review Exercise,” said acting Judge Thwala.

The court said the technicalities that developed during its implementation by the respondent could not on their own render an otherwise lawful process to be unlawful.

Acting Industrial Court Judge Thwala ordered that: the Memorandum of Agreement signed and entered between the Swaziland Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (SUFIAW) and SMVAF on August 8, 2017 at Mbabane to be valid and of force and effect.

The order by the court comes after the aggrieved employees filed an application where they were seeking an order directing SMVAF to comply with the Memorandum of Agreement dated August 8, 2017, by paying them within two days after the issuance of the judgment. The workers had filed the application through SUFIAW.

In her founding affidavit, SUFIAWU Secretary General, Jabu Shiba, stated that on or about the year 2017, the union and the fund embarked on an exercise to determine and agree on a fair and equitable salary review formula.

Formula

She highlighted that the formula was to be informed by a market survey to ensure that the staff was rewarded competitively.
Shiba said two consultants namely, Emergence Growth and LCC Capital, were engaged by the parties and given terms of reference to carry out the market survey and recommend the market-related pay scales.

“I wish to state that the union and the Fund both entered into an agreement adopting the report on salaries in relation to the job grading, which was prepared by LCC Capital and also the pay structure as proposed by Emergence Growth,” submitted Shiba.

She averred that the salary scales which were based on total costs to the company were excluded.
According to Shiba, they adopted the pay structure which was based on basic pay with the inclusion of benefits.  She alleged that in essence, the parties discarded the concept of total costs to the company when structuring the pay.

She pointed out that the agreement was recorded in writing and the above assertions were contained in Article 2.1 and 2.2, respectively, of the agreement which was signed by the fund and the union on August 8, 2017.
The employees were represented by Happy Mkhabela of Mkhabela Attorneys, while SMVAF was represented by Attorney Sabelo Masuku.

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