Some dismissed textile workers regret joining strike
MBABANE - It would seem some of the textile workers who have been dismissed from work are regretting their decision to engage in the strike that lasted for over four weeks.
Some of those interviewed have sobbing stories to tell about how their lives have changed for the worst.
“After losing my textile job, I am now homeless,” is what one of the dismissed textile workers said.
Nontsetselelo Vilakati was dismissed last week, together with about 300 others, some of whom were informed to await being recalled to work.
The affected workers are from three textile firms, namely; HO’s Enterprises, FTM Garments and Zheng Yong. When the textile workers returned to work last Monday following a strike action that had dragged for about five weeks over salary increment, some of the employees found a notice at the entrance informing them not to return to work.
Dismissal
According to Vilakati, after the news of their dismissal made waves, her housemate requested her, along with her two children, to move out in order for her to find a replacement as she would no longer be able to pay rent.
“I then decided to move back home but to my surprise, when I got there, they told me that I needed to go back to Nhlangano Town as they would not be able to take care of me and my children. I decided to stop my daughter from attending pre-school due to the expense that comes with it,” she said.
She mentioned that currently, she did not have a plan on where she and her children would live.
Goodness Mashaya, who is also among those who lost their jobs, stated that life was now hard for her and her family because she no longer had a job. Mashaya said as she was the breadwinner in her family, some of the children she took care of had to drop out of school as she could not pay for their outstanding school fees.
“This is painful and I am really sad. I was having a conversation with my sixyear-old daughter, who out of the blue, asked me why I had not been going to work this week and why I have not been able to buy bread in the house as she was tired of eating porridge every morning. I was almost in tears,” she said.
She mentioned that although she would have liked to go back to work, she did not agree with the salaries they were being paid.
Mashaya also feared being victimised by her superiors.
“Although I wish the situation would have turned out differently, going back to work is not an option for some of us as it would mean that these people can bully us until we decide to quit. I would have liked for us to at least have them give us a sum of money that would help us start businesses, while we search for other jobs,”she said.
Better
Another former textile worker, who requested to remain anonymous, stated that being at home was much better than working for people who did not appreciate their hard work. She said she had worked for the firm since 2002, but the salary hike was not reflective of her long service.
“We hardly had time to rest as we wanted overtime but still earned very little. They have not showed any appreciation, instead they were quick to have us sent home. It is true that we have families and they need to survive but not being present at home and not bring anything back is another problem,” she said.
She mentioned that currently, she had been getting assistance from her husband who took much of the responsibilities at home.
She mentioned that not being at work gave her time to be emotionally available for her family while coming up with other ideas of making money.
“I feel sad though because some of the people who were dismissed were breadwinners and they used the money to take care of their families. I would not want to go back to the firm as I feel we have been tortured by these people for a long time. We hope to find employment elsewhere,” she said.
Also weighing in on the issue was Phindile Dlamini, who said: “We were told that we would not be dismissed upon return to work. At the moment, our lives are a misery, not only are we unable to take care of our families, but emotionally we are hurt. We were already struggling to take care our children while working and now things have worsened. With the kind of leaders we have though, we are hopeful that justice will prevail and we will be able to return to work and have the employers increase our salaries.”
Another textile worker, Zandile Dlamini said; “I do not know if we will ever return to work but I hope so as life is really hard. We have been sleeping on empty stomachs for a while and have not been able to take care of our families.”
Salaries
Also commenting on the issue was Nobuhle Dlamini, who said; “We cannot afford to pay rent and to cater for our basic needs. We even do not know what our next meal will be. I really hope that they will take us back to work. At the moment, we rely on our leaders to fight for us to get back our permanent jobs with decent salaries.”
Meanwhile, Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) Secretary General Wonder Mkhonza said what textile workers employers did was wrong. He said their attorneys were working on the matter. He said some of the employers had begun requesting the employees to return to work.
“Some of the employers have started recalling them to work but we have been having cases of the employees being reluctant. This is because they fear being victimised. We have advised them to return to work though and have us deal with the matter,” he said.
Mkhonza said they would convene a meeting to discuss a way forward and how they would be dealing with victimisation cases if they arose.