TQM TEXTILES SOLD TO SA COMPANY

MBABANE – TQM Textile Swaziland (PTY) Limited, one of the country’s largest textile firms, has reportedly been sold to a South Africa- based company.

There is now a confusion regarding the amount of money to be paid to former employees of the company after the court ordered that they be paid underpayments dating back to 2010.

The employees have run to court where they seek an order directing the deputy sheriff to attach assets belonging to the company to be kept as security for their claim.

This was after they learnt that TQM Textile Swaziland (Matsapha) has allegedly been sold to the South Africa-based company, having not fully complied with the court order to pay the former employees.
The name of the South Africa-based company was, however, not disclosed in the court papers.

In their application, Thembi Dlamini of Logoba, submitted that the judgment of the Industrial Court which ordered that they be paid the underpayments read; “The underpayments from December 9, 2010 going back to the period when the respondent started to operate is to be negotiated and agreed upon by the parties with the assistance of the office of the Commissioner of Labour.”

Dlamini alleged that the calculations made by the Commissioner of Labour showed that the underpayments were a sum of E350 000.
She said TQM Textiles Swaziland allegedly contended that the amount due to the former employees was E181 380.04.

Dlamini informed the court that the former employees’ calculations showed the amount due to them was E700 000.

Calculations

“I wish to point out that the difference between our calculations and those of the Commissioner of Labour is the dates of employment. The Commissioner of Labour used dates which were not correct,” she said.
According to Dlamini, they requested to meet the Commissioner of Labour in a bid to sort out the issue of the differences.

She submitted that their representatives proposed to meet the commissioner in July 2018 at the company premises to finalise the steps required for the judgment to be complied with fully.
Dlamini alleged that the meeting did not take place since the commissioner did not respond to their correspondence.
She stated that they learnt about the differences in the calculations during a previous meeting. Dlamini added that they recently learnt that the company had allegedly been sold before the issue of the underpayments had been finalised.

“This I learnt through a letter which was shared to me by a former colleague and friend of mine who is still in the employ of the respondent.”
She said in the present matter they were seeking an order directing and authorising the deputy sheriff in any region where assets of TQM Textiles Swaziland could be located, to attach them for safe-keeping as security for their claim.

Dlamini told the court that there was a prima facie case for the relief they were seeking in that there was a judgment of the court in their favour which ordered that they be paid. The matter is awaiting judgment.
When the employees initially went to court, they were 355 and 51 of them were dismissed while the rest were re-engaged by the company.

Judgment

On July 23, 2014, the Industrial Court issued a judgment in which it ordered that the correct applicable wages order was the Regulations of Wages (Manufacturing) Industrial Order.
The company was paying the employees according to the Wages Regulation for the Textile and Apparel Industry.
The court also ordered that the company should pay underpayments going back to December 9, 2010 with immediate effect and those of the period before the aforementioned date to when the company started operating, be negotiated and agreed upon by the parties with the assistance of the Commissioner of Labour. The former employees were represented by Alex Fakudze.

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