Times Of Swaziland: TAMBUTI STAFF PICKET OVER FOOD, CONTRACTS

TAMBUTI STAFF PICKET OVER FOOD, CONTRACTS
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Sibusiso Zwane on 29/03/2023 08:42:00


TAMBUTI – Workers of Tambuti Estate United Plantations picketed over alleged
rotten food and cutting of seasonal workers’ contracts from nine to three
months.
The workers picketed during their lunch-hour (between noon and 1pm) yesterday.
Their intention was to deliver a petition with six grievances to the management,
mainly the estate manager, but no one came to receive it. According to the
workers’ petition, they demanded that the company should stop the reduction of
seasonal workers’ contracts from nine to three months. They alleged that,
usually, seasonal workers had a contract of nine months and would automatically
return to the company on the season of the work. However, they alleged that from
last year, the company had been reducing the seasonal workers’ contracts
without consulting their union - the Swaziland Agriculture and Plantation
Workers’ Union (SAPAWU). They claimed that the company was purportedly doing
this to prevent them from getting benefits that were negotiated by the union.
“The company is also employing seasonal workers on weekly or monthly contracts
to prevent them from attaining the seasonal employee status,” reads part of
the petition.
Loans
The workers argued that by so doing, the company was depriving them of the
opportunity to access loans from financial institutions. They said under the
nine-month seasonal contract, which was automatically renewed in the following
year, financial institutions were assisting them financially, but now that they
were offered a contract of three months or less, banks did not entertain their
applications for loans. They said this was because there was no guarantee that
their contracts would be renewed. Again, they complained that the company, which
was engaged to serve them food rations, was allegedly distributing expired
and/or rotten maize meal. According to their claims, those working at the
kitchen reported the matter to management, but it allegedly directed that the
maize meal should be distributed to the workers. They also alleged that in the
company, workers had an option, that those who did not eat chicken would be
given beef. However, they claimed that recently, the company told them that it
was failing to get beef supply and everyone, including those who did not eat
chicken, were served with it (chicken). Their argument was that they should be
given food items which they needed because the company was not doing them a
favour by giving them the rations, as they also made contributions for the food.
In that regard, they demanded fresh and healthy food rations.
Hospital
They also complained about non-availability of drugs at the company clinic. They
alleged that all along, the clinic was run by the company, but recently it
decided to outsource the medical services. They alleged that since then, they
were often referred to another clinic in Siphofaneni, instead of a hospital,
which was proof that the reason for the transfer was shortage of drugs, not that
they had complications in their illnesses. They also claimed that the
qualifications of some of the nursing staff were questionable since they were
sometimes allegedly given wrong medication. Therefore, the workers demanded that
the company should make their health a priority. Furthermore, they complained
that their salaries were sometimes delayed and they had to wait for hours after
knock-off time. They demanded that their salaries should be deposited timeously
into their bank accounts, to avoid the long wait at their respective banks. On
top of that, they argued that more often than not, the distribution of payslips
was delayed. At times, they alleged that they got their payslips after a month.
Therefore, they demanded that the payslips should be made available prior to pay
day or at least in the morning of the payday.