PASTOR DEMANDS E273K FROM ALLIANCE CHURCH

MBABANE - The Alliance Church in Eswatini has been taken to court by one of its pastors, for among other things, the position of SG within the church.

Reverend Eric Muzi Dlamini is not only challenging his purported removal from the position of secretary general (SG), but is further demanding payment of over E270 000, which he claims is in respect of arrear wages. In his urgent application, which was filed in the Industrial Court yesterday,  Reverend Dlamini is seeking an order interdicting The Alliance Church in Eswatini (TACE) from launching a recruitment exercise or offering employment to any other person in the position of SG.  

Termination

He also entreated the court of equity to set aside the letter of termination dated November 14, 2023.  It was further his plea to the court that it should issue an order setting aside the letter, which seeks to relieve him of his duties and position as schools manager. The aforementioned letter, according to Reverend Dlamini, was issued by the church on December 18, 2023. He is also praying for an order directing the first respondent (TACE) to pay him a sum of E273 000, which he claimed was in respect of arrear wages.

  Dlamini narrated to the court that he was a reverend of the Bhunya branch of the church. He said he was also a director of TACE, having been appointed after the church was registered as a non-profit company, sometime in 2015. “Most significantly, I am an employee of TACE, having been employed sometime in January 2012, on a renewable fixed-term contract of three years. Over and above that capacity, I was also employed as a schools manager and clinics administrator for the schools and clinics under TACE,” submitted the reverend.  

Employment

According to the clergyman, in terms of the contract of employment, he was to be remunerated at the scale of D4 per month, which was the sum of E10 000, rising to E14 000 per month .He alleged that in terms of the letter of appointment, his contract of employment was renewable based on   performance. The man of the cloth alleged that subsequent to the conclusion of the employment contract, he duly assumed his duties as contracted and after the expiry of same in the year 2015, he continued to render his services under the same terms and conditions.

Dlamini claimed that there was no performance appraisal that was undertaken by TACE and he continued to render his services under the same terms and conditions. He averred that he was, therefore, still employed by TACE and that the contract of employment had been tacitly renewed a number of times.  
Reverend Dlamini alleged that, sometime in 2017, he was approached by the then chairperson of TACE to relinquish his position as clinics administrator.
He told the court that this was after a transfer to his current branch from Ngogodla Alliance Church was proposed, which he duly accepted.  The reverend told the court that he had no issue with relinquishing some of his duties, hence he continued to work in his other capacities under the same terms and conditions.

Remuneration

He submitted that, in as far as his remuneration was concerned, immediately after assuming his position in terms of the letter of appointment and contract, it was discovered that there was a budgeted amount for the clinics administrator’s position. Reverend Dlamini alleged that as such, he was earning a total sum of E23 000 instead of E14 000.  He told the court that when he was asked to relinquish the position of clinics administrator in 2017, his salary dropped to E10 000, much against the terms of the tacitly renewed agreement in as far as his remuneration was concerned.  He alleged that to date, he was still earning that salary and that was the reason he was also claiming the balance of E4 000 per month from the date on which the underpayments started, which was in April 2018, to date.  The matter is pending before Industrial Court Judge Abande Dlamini. The applicant (Reverend Dlamini) is represented by Bongani Phakathi of Phakathi Jele Attorneys.

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