By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:ShopRite Eswatini workers are crying for help after being forced to provide sick-sheet from the Mbabane Government hospital despite the non-availability of drugs.

Eswatini is facing a health crisis amid shortage of drugs in public hospitals,the ShopRite workers alleged that, they are being forced to seek medical treatment from a collapsed public hospital while Managers use their Medical Aids to receive the best treatment in hospitals of clinics of their choice.

“The Management is refusing to accept a sick-sheet from other health institutions or Clinics.But Managers with Medical Aids are not visiting the Mbabane Government Hospitals where there are no drugs,only junior employees are forced to provide a sick-sheet from Mbabane Government Hospital”, said an employee.

A questionnaire was sent to ShopRite Eswatini Manager Pamela Nkomonde,however, she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.

Reached for comments on Sunday,Wander Mkhonza,the Secretary General(SG) of the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland(ATUSWA) said, “this harassment” was not happening only at ShopRite Eswatini adding that,as a union,they received complaints from other companies where employees are forced to produce sick-sheets from a health institution favored by the employer.

“We can only advice workers to visit a health institution of their choice,keep a copy of the sick-sheet and submit the original to the employer.The employer is obligated in terms of the law to pay the sick-sheet but some employers normally refuse to pay if the employee produced a sick-sheet from a health institution that is not recognized by them. The copy of the sick-sheet will then help when we take the employer to court demanding the payment, there’s no law allowing employers to choose a hospital or clinic where employees must receive medical treatment. Workers are adults and capable of taking their own decisions where to get the best medical treatment and the employer is only expected to pay as per the sick-sheet.This is just harassment,ShopRite is controlling the lives of the employees even on private issues because sickness is private, you cannot decide for an adult where to get medical treatment”,said the ATUSWA Secretary General.