31 fired for asking for a raise

KEABETSWE NEWEL
Correspondent | Thursday January 13, 2011 00:00

According to a spokesman of the group who was employed as a driver, they were fired on January 5 when they reported for work. 'We were denied bonuses at the end of last year,' he said. 'We then wrote a letter requesting salary increments. The Director responded by firing us without any negotiations.'

The man, who requested anonymity, said they were told that they would be given their full packages on January 11, which was why they were gathered outside the premises.

'I travel to as far as Johannesburg where I never get paid for night outs,' he says. 'I get only P30 for accommodation and P60 for food. But there is no accommodation for P30. I usually sleep in the truck fully loaded with gas cylinders which could explode any time.'

Another man says he has worked for the company for seven years, but there is no acknowledgement that he is a senior employee. Thangwane says he was a driver assistant but doubles as an agent by clearing goods at the border, which is not reflected in his salary.

'We are involved in this company's production,' he said. 'Therefore, we know when it makes profit and when it does not.

We deliver stock and we see sales increase. Yet the Director claims that sales have fallen down. When we talk to him about increments, he says Batswana do not know the purpose of money.'

The man says employees of Kemtek are subjected to a lot of verbal abuse and threats of assault. Colourful phrases like, 'I will kick your arse,' are common, he claims.

There is also a lot of cheating in their meagre pay. One Kelebogile Matshameko says she has been an employee of Kemtek for over six years, but she has been told she will get only P2, 000 as her package.

'That amount applies only for one year eight months,' she says. 'I was told my five-year gratuity included money for all the other years.'

When contacted, the Director, Jagadesh Venkatesh, said it is true that he has fired 31 employees because although they had the right to complain and ask for increments, they did not follow the right procedure.

'They demanded salary increments on a tools down basis,' says Venkatesh. 'They threatened not to do any work that day, and they didn't. They were on strike, yet they won't admit as much.'

He says he tried to negotiate with them to go back to work while he considered their request, but they chose not to work. He alleges that one woman even said it did not matter if they lost their jobs.

'I had no choice but to fire them and recruit new staff because business had to go on,' Venkatesh says. 'There was no need to follow the right procedure to fire them because they did not follow the right procedure to strike. They were on an illegal strike.'

He says while his employees may not be satisfied with their salaries and wages, the fact is that no one is paid below the prescribed minimum wage and that although the government has not increased salaries and wages since 2008, he voluntarily increased those of some of his employees in 2009 and others in 2010.