A member of parliament in Swaziland / eSwatini has
called for an investigation after workers were locked into their factory by
their bosses and forced to work into the night.
It happened at Africa Chicks, a Poultry and Egg
producing company at Ngwenya in the Hhohho region.
The workers, many women, were made to stay at work
because a delivery of eggs from neighbouring South Africa had not arrived by
the time they were due to finish at 5 p.m. The truck eventually arrived at 9 p.m. and
they worked ‘under duress’ sorting eggs until 11.30 p.m.
The Swazi Observer
reported, ‘It is alleged that superiors indirectly hinted that if anyone
left against the order to remain within the premises would face the
music.’
It added, ‘After 5 p.m. the premises’ gates were
locked, meaning no one could either enter or leave the premises unless
authorised to do so.’
The Observer said the 20 workers stayed at work
‘out of fear’. As a result many of the women were unable to collect their
children from a day care centre.
No one at the factory was available for comment. Motshane
Member of Parliament Robert Magongo said the matter was reported to him and he
went to engage the authorities at the farm.
Magongo said should he find that the allegations were
true he would take the matter up because he could not allow Emaswati to suffer
at the hands of their employer.
Swaziland, which is ruled by absolute
monarch King Mswati III, has one of the worst records in the world for
workers’ rights, according to a report from the
International Trade Union Confederation. Reviewing the year 2018, ITUC said ‘police brutality reached unprecedented levels’ and ‘security forces
fired live ammunition at protesting workers’.
In September 2018 police fired
live bullets, rubber bullets and teargas at workers and demonstrators who
had been legally protesting during a three-day strike. The streets of Manzini,
the kingdom’s main commercial city, were turned into a ‘battlefield’, according
to local media. The Swazi Observer, a
newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, said the bus rank in Swaziland’s
major commercial city was ‘turned into a warzone as stun grenades, teargas,
teasers and rubber bullets became the order of the day’.
The Times
of Swaziland , the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, called
it an ‘open battlefield’.
Armed police had been deployed across Swaziland. Videos
and photographs of brutal police attacks were uploaded on social
media. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)
in a statement said the videos
showed ‘unlawful police actions’.
It added, ‘Several workers were wounded after police
fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd in Manzini. These police officers
then unleashed a wave of assaults against striking workers in an effort to
quell the protests.’
Human rights are severely curtailed in Swaziland where
political parties are banned from taking
part in elections and opponents of the King are charged
under a number of laws, including the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
See also
Swaziland
police fire gunshots during textiles dispute, third attack on workers in a week
UK solidarity with Swazi workers
