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- News24 was intimidated by the KwaSizabantu Mission security chief after trying to cover a canceled workers’ strike.
- The workers alleged that the mission leadership intimidated them over the proposed strike.
- They claimed they did not receive full salarms for months and one claimed they were not provided with copies of their employment contracts.
An employee of the KwaSizabantu Mission tried to prevent News24 and other outlets from reporting on a workers’ strike that was scheduled for Monday in the area, but was canceled, allegedly due to intimidation.
Tobie Vermaak, the mission’s security chief, approached News24 and the other television journalists and began taking pictures while parked outside the Saverite supermarket in KwaSizabantu.
Vermaak then attempted to take down the cell phone of a News24 journalist without warning. When told that he couldn’t touch the News24 property, he said, “That’s wonderful.”
He had a message for News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson: “Tell him what I say, it seems to me that they know what happens here before the news comes out, so it seems to me that they (News24) are sitting behind that (the news) “.
The planned workers’ strike at the mission was called off Monday, allegedly due to intimidation, according to the workers.
Three Emseni Farm and Ekhamanzi Springs mission employees spoke to News24 and other outlets and stated that, among other complaints they had, they did not receive full salary in months, were allegedly intimidated into calling off the strike, and had to endure difficult working conditions.
An Emseni farm worker, who was initially afraid to speak up, said he was frustrated because he was working in poor working conditions and the mission was not paying full wages.
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The worker said they received wages, but not as much as they should have been paid. His salary should be R3 500, but he was never paid that amount, he claimed.
“It’s been a while since we started working here. It’s been three years for me and I have never been paid R3 500 before. And if we ask [about] salaries, threaten to fire [us] or chase [us] away from the mission.
“I am one of the employees [who is] I am not happy to work there. You end up regretting working for these people. “
The worker said the lack of work in the area meant he had to continue his employment there.
“But circumstances force us to work here no matter how hard it is. In many cases, they hide their actions behind the church.”
The people he referred to included his manager, whose name is known to News24.
“… If you have a work-related problem, they don’t address it properly and threaten to fire you,” the worker alleged. “It’s not nice working for this mission.”
“Our salaries have never been the same from the beginning because the money they pay us does not add up to R3 500. When you work for these people, you really don’t know how much you will get.
“One month it will be reflected as R2 700 and the next month it will change to R2 500, so you’re really not sure how much you make per month.
“So they just say that you are working for God, you are serving God if you work in the [mission]. “
Employment contracts are not with us
The worker indicated that when they signed the employment contracts, he did not say how much they would be paid.
“They don’t show any salary amount in the contracts, they just tell you your hourly rate. For example, as far as I know, working a full day, they should pay me R162.50. The reason we started fighting with them is because they lowered the amount to R124 per day. “
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The worker added that many wrongdoings were “hidden behind the church.”
“If you do something wrong, they will use the church against you, but they themselves do not approach things in a religious way.
“They will just fire you instantly and they are not as kind and patient as a parishioner should be. They should close the church because it is almost non-existent. This should be a workplace and nothing more.”
The worker said he suspected the strike did not continue after the KwaSizabantu Mission management spoke with employees.
“I think they were able to talk to the employees and prevent them from going ahead with the strike. It’s one that we had planned and thought was going to happen. I also intended to be part of the strike.
“They had promised to pay us R3 500 between Thursday and Friday, but it never happened. When we received bank notifications, the money that they promised us was not there.”
They told us they would fire us if we attacked
An Ekhamanzi Springs worker, who declined to be identified for fear of victimization, said the strike was stopped due to intimidation.
“People were threatened not to leave the premises because they do not know who actually planned the strike. They were not allowed to leave. Whoever leaves the premises must know that they cannot get their job back.”
The worker also said they did not receive the full salary.
“No, we didn’t get our full salaries, they retired. They pay us between R1,000 and R3,500. Nobody gets paid more than that. As we speak, I don’t even have groceries. I’m already out of cash due to other monthly costs.
The worker also said that when they try to air their complaints “they fire you.”
They did not have copies of their employment contracts, he also claimed.
“When you come to work to sign your contract, they give it to you, and you have to sign it right there. They don’t give you time to read it or make a copy and they keep the contract.”
The worker further alleged that some employees worked but were not paid.
“Some have the problem that they worked all month and were not paid. Myself and some others got a little extra money after the pickets [last month]. But those who worked all month did not get paid. I don’t know the reason why the amount was not paid. Some of them can’t even leave the premises because they threaten to kick them out completely. “
Another farm worker from Ekhamanzi Springs confirmed they were destined to strike.
“The strike was called off because they told us that if they went on strike, they were threatening that we would lose our jobs. Other workers are sad that they can’t be a part of it.”
News24 contacted the KwaSizabantu Mission and the mission attorney Monday afternoon for a response to various allegations.
Spokeswoman Bridget von Holdt responded Monday night: “There was no strike today. News24 was on the mission, so you would know.”
Last week, in correspondence last week on various matters, Von Holdt claimed that News24 “had no interest in verifying the accuracy of the information it publishes.”
“As you are no longer independent on the matter, we regret not continuing to correspond with News24 or affiliates at this stage.”
Workers also stopped using tools last week in demand for better pay, News24 reported last week.
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