Teachers’ pay rises ‘stolen’ by mystery deductions

MBABANE – Inyandzaleyo!

Civil servants report ‘mysterious’ garnishee orders were filed without their knowledge, leading to massive, unlawful salary deductions.

A garnishee order is a court order to recover a debt from a party’s bank account or from someone who owes that party money.

Many employees claim these orders are imposed even when their total debt deductions exceed the 33.3 per cent ratio. Employees also raise concerns that the garnishees are processed without any prior notification.

Some civil servants believe these sudden deductions occur specifically when a salary adjustment is implemented, such as a cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) or a salary review. Civil servants were awarded a salary review last month, backdated to April 1, 2025, with increases ranging from zero per cent to 54 per cent.

One teacher reported finding an E500 deduction on his October payslip with an outstanding balance of over E18 000, despite having received no legal notification.

The teacher said the increment was supposed to bring relief, but instead, he faced a deduction he had ‘never heard of’. He added: ‘I’ve never received summons, notices, or any communication relating to this alleged debt’.

Masiza Dlamini, Executive of VMs Legal Marketing and Business Development, confirmed a surge of concern among teachers reporting unknown garnishee deductions on their October payslips, coinciding with the salary increments. Early findings suggest that these cases may not be accidental administrative errors, but part of a possible coordinated syndicate.

Dlamini stated: “We are seeing signs of misuse of personal data, flawed court processes and in some cases, completely unfounded garnishee orders. These patterns require urgent investigation.”

He said reports from multiple regions reflect this similar pattern, leading to the teachers union taking immediate action. Dlamini said teachers’ have reported several anomalies, including: Deductions with no court summons, court orders never served, untraceable judgments, discrepancies in creditor details and suspicious documentation submitted to the Treasury Department.

Dlamini’s entity has started a forensic investigation and will seek legal recourse, with over 80 teachers already reporting the challenge.

VMs Legal established a task team of attorneys to gather documents, verify claims and conduct a forensic investigation. The first step is for teachers to secure official documentation from the Treasury Department.

Dlamini advised: “These documents will enable our attorneys to verify whether the garnishees were lawfully authorised or fraudulently processed.” Once data is collected, he said SNAT will compile a detailed forensic report to guide the union’s next legal steps.

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Registrar declines to comment on matter

MBABANE – No comment!

The Registrar of the High Court, Nosipho Mazibuko, said she could not comment on the issue as her office has not received any reports regarding the matter.

She said this as this publication sought to establish how garnishees were approved without the knowledge of those who were recipients.

This follows that there are allegations of collusion between legal representatives of the micro-lenders and employees within the Judiciary.

Meanwhile, a legal expert shared that in order for the garnishee to be issued, the applicant must first serve the defendant with a letter of demand with all the debt history. The expert said if the defendant fails to respond to the letter of demand within the stipulated period, summons could be issued to drag the defendant to court so that their side could be heard.

*Full article available in our publication