Certificate of unresolved dispute for FTM, suspended workers
NHLANGANO – The dispute between suspended FTM Garments employees and their employer is far from being over, as CMAC has concluded it would issue a certificate of unresolved dispute.
CMAC is an acronym for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission.
The resolution follows a meeting on Monday where the employer preferred not to say anything, but that the commissioner issues the certificate as they were not in agreement.
These 13 employees are among many who were never recalled to work after the strike led by the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) last year.
Demand
They hired their own lawyer to serve the textile firm with letters of demand dated September 23, 2022; each demanding payment between E40 000 and E84 000 from the employer.
The figures depended mainly on the length of time each employee spent in the company, the position they were holding while executing their duties and their rate per hour.
The letter details the breakdown of the monies between annual leave due, severance pay, four months pay, notice pay along with additional notice pay and unfair dismissal compensation.
The letter states that the payments were expected within seven days upon receipt of the letter, failing which they were going to lodge a dispute with CMAC.
It is worth noting that after the strike, which was deemed illegal by the firms, the employees were called to sign forms in which they detailed why they absented themselves from work for over three working days, without a doctor’s note.
Preferred
Yesterday, the employer who was represented by Human Resource Manager Lucky Gina stated that they would have preferred to deal with the matter if the employees came individually not as a group.
It was argued, however, that their offence was similar and that they were all suspended for attending a strike collectively not as individuals.
It was then that the employer denied continuing with the matter, hence the employees were told to collect a certificate of unresolved dispute in the next seven days.
The same was confirmed by the employees’ lawyer who stated that they were expecting the letter and would be taking the matter to court.