58 TEXTILE WORKERS LOCKED OUT, LABOUR MINISTRY INTERVENES

SITEKI – About 58 workers of Mtfombeni Investment, a textile firm situated in Big Bend, were on Monday locked out of the company premises.

The workers claimed they had been verbally informed that they were being retrenched. According to one of the affected workers, the management had communicated to the workers about their fate on Monday morning, when they reported for work. He said yesterday, a meeting was held between a workers’ representative, management and officials from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. He mentioned that during the meeting, the officials instructed the management to allow the workers to continue with their duties within 24 hours. The employee stated that the management was advised to follow the required procedures if they intended to retrench employees. He added that the management was also advised to constantly communicate with the ministry when dealing with issues of employees.

The employee also alleged that some of the workers have not been paid their salaries for last month. “We were told that the meeting was a success and we hope the management will heed the advice from the ministry to reinstate us,” he said. The company’s Managing Director (MD), Carol Sibandze, said she was yet to get a report on what happened as she was currently out of the country. The MD stated that she was informed that the affected workers were told to stop after a decision was taken by management, looking at their productivity. Sibandze clarified that the workers had not been retrenched but were stopped from continuing with their duties, after the directors were not satisfied with their work.

She said the company could not retrench workers without following the appropriate procedures.  “The workers have not been retrenched, but were stopped by directors on the basis that they failed to finish work in their duty station. I am yet to get a full report on the matter as I am out of the country,” she said. Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland Secretary General Wander Mkhonza said his office was yet to meet the workers and convince them to join the union. Mkhonza said the aggrieved workers had not reported the matter on the basis that they were not yet members of the union. Ministry of Labour and Social Security Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe said the ministry was working on the matter with the employer. “We are working on this matter with the employer and we cannot disclose details at this stage,” he said. 

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