By Mduduzi Hlophe

MANZINI: Former employees of the Eswatini Dairy Board (SDB) engaged in a protest calling for the removal of the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Tony Dlamini. 

The  former employees submitted a follow up petition  to the Chairman of the board on Monday after  a list of grievances that warranted the CEO's removal were once brought to the boards attention.In some of their grievances they alleged that the company’sCEO,  Dr Tony Dlamini unfairly terminated  their contracts of permanent employment rendering  them jobless as a result , a matter that is also with the Conciliation  Mediation and Arbitration Commission  (CMAC). He also forced  some employees to work at his private homes during working hours.The CEO is also accused  of forcing the employees into doing manual labour which  was outside the area of their expertise. 

"We believe that our grievances alone are enough to warrant the dismissal of the CEO of the Eswatini Dairy Board, he has been there for a very long time and seems to have lost the fundamental  mission of the company  which is Dairy development of which we are  the engine. Our call is also loudly echoed by the junior staff within the company but they fear victimization’s, reads the petition in part.

The petition was received by  Bandile Mdluli, the Acting Dairy Development Manager. 

In an earlier interview with this Swaziland News, Dr Tony Dlamini, the Chief Executive Officer of the Eswatini Dairy Board denied the allegations leveled against him.

“There is a youth empowerment programme in our organisation whereby we offer young graduates with internships in batches so they can gain the relevant work experience, we don’t terminate their contracts prematurely.  Once their contracts elapse, we engage a new batch of graduates in order to create  a wide pool of employable graduates. Doing manual work is part of farm management, so there is nothing wrong with that",said the CEO.

Wander Mkhonza, the Secretary General of the Almagated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) strongly condemned the actions of the Eswatini Dairy Board CEO.

"It is totally wrong and legally unacceptable to move an employee from permanent status to casual status and if there  is a certificate of unresolved dispute, the matter needs to be taken to an Arbitrator”,he said.