VOLUNTARY EXIT PACKAGES FOR INYATSI GROUP EMPLOYEES

MBABANE – Unemployment figures are expected to rise, as one of the biggest group of companies in the country is going through a restructuring that will leave a number of its employees without jobs.

The festive season was not merry for some employees under Inyatsi Group Holdings as some had to choose between voluntary exit packages or settling for a pay cut so they could save their jobs. Inyatsi Group Holdings has subsidiary companies that include Maloma Colliery, The Clinic Group, Lidwala Insurance, Eswatini Mobile, Infracast, Construction Associate and the recent edition Eswatini Meat Industries, among others. Some of the employees who were affected by the looming job losses were employed under the telecommunications company, Eswatini Mobile, as well as Maloma Colliery.

According to some of the employees, the company started engaging them in November 2023. They were informed that the companies were not able to accommodate them anymore, hence it was looking at cutting costs. On November 30, 2023, the company, through a consultant that was engaged, started serving the employees with memorandums.

According to a memorandum that was sent to the employees, which this publication is in possession of, the organisation was going through a restructuring process. The content of the letter says the voluntary exit was open to all employees. “In line with the ongoing organisational restructuring process, a decision has been made to offer you a voluntary retrenchment/exit programme.

“Please note that the following conditions apply: The programme is open to all full-time and part-time employees; it is entirely voluntary and you are under no obligation to participate. The application window is from Friday 1st December 2023 to 7th December 2023. If you are interested in participating, please complete the attached application form. Should your application be successful, you will be required to sign a Voluntary Exit Agreement and your employment shall terminate.

Upon termination, you will be paid terminal benefits based on the statutory severance package and your leave pay (being accrued leave that was not taken) Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the People and Culture Department or your immediate Supervisor,” reads the memorandum.

Window

An email that was sent to the employees stated that the application window for the voluntary exit was from December 1 to 7, 2023. Over the month of December, it was a gloomy period for some of the employees, as they had to make a decision. Some employees under Eswatini Mobile and Maloma Colliery were said to have signed the voluntary exit forms.

In the same period, some of those who had not signed the voluntary exit forms were offered new contracts with a lesser salary offer. This has seen one of the affected employees, Happiness Lapidos, approaching the Industrial Court for a legal recourse.  She wanted the court of equity to interdict the company from proceeding with the intended consultation.  

Inyatsi Group Holdings Marketing and Public Relations Manager Ncobile Dlamini, confirmed that the group had offered voluntary-exit packages to employees. The manager clarified that the voluntary exit was open to all employees, not targeting certain employees. “The process of voluntary exit packages was opened to everyone within the group. There was no specific criterion used; hence it is called a voluntary exit package. People volunteered themselves,” she said.

Confidential

When asked how many employees within the group had taken the voluntary exit packages, she said: “Unfortunately, we cannot divulge the number or names of people who took the packages as employer and employee information is confidential.” These job losses occur just after His Majesty King Mswati III declared poverty as a national disaster. Some of the catalysts of poverty in the country is the high rate of unemployment.

According to statistics by the African Development Bank, unemployment remained high, at 33.3 per cent in 2021, exacerbating the poverty rate of 58.9 per cent. The proportion of the population living below the national poverty line fell moderately from 63 per cent in 2010 to 58.9 per cent in 2017, driven by improvements in educational attainment, the coverage of social protection and labour incomes. It is even higher among young people, with those between 15 and 24 years facing an unemployment rate of 59.1 per cent in 2021.

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