BY MBONO MDLULI
LOBAMBA – A Member of Parliament (MP) has promised to help the Ministry of Labour and Social Security with transport.
Mhlambanyatsi MP Bonginkosi Dlamini said this today when making a submission in the House of Assembly during the 2023/24 annual performance debate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The legislator said he noted that the Ministry mentioned that it did not have adequate means of transport to work. The problem was that they could not visit companies in order to check if they followed Labour laws in their work.
“I suggest that you approach us as MPs so that we can help you with transport,” Dlamini said. Dlamini’s sentiments were also shared by Shiselweni I MP Shawnette Henwood.
She said it was concerning that the Ministry of Labour could not do surprise visits on other companies. “I once worked for a certain companies for 10 years and the Ministry never paid us a visit,” Henwood said.
Ngudzeni MP Charles Ndlovu pleaded with the Ministry to ensure that Labour laws were followed in the country. He made an example of the dam-building project currently going on in Mpakeni.
Ndlovu said this project was near his constituency and many Emaswati from Ngudzeni were employed, if not affected in any way. He said the workers on that site could be employed on a certain day and be fired the following day. He said this affected the whole project, as it became stalled while labour disputes had to be attended to.
Mhlume MP Sifiso Pitso Magagula, who was chairing the debate, also mentioned that the issue of transport in the Ministry needed to be sorted out fast.
He said this was not good because business people were taking advantage of that, as they knew that the Ministry would not be visiting them. He said it was the ordinary Emaswati that suffered in the process and as MPs, they could not allow that to happen.
In response, Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi said the issue of transport was indeed a problem in their Ministry and many employers took advantage of that. He did not have enough time to respond, and was asked to write down answers to questions from the MPs who raised concerns during the debate.
