A company which is doing work for one of the major firm in Sasolburg stand accused by its former and current employees of unfair labour practices.
The company Exsquizit Solutions is accused of unfair dismissals, not adhering to safety standards, as employees claims that they work in dangerous places without proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), not paying shift allowance, not paying employees on time and refusing to recognise their union.
The employees who cannot be named for fear of dismissal said the company is deducting their UIF and Tax from their salary but were shocked to learn when they visited labour offices that the company doesn’t process those deductions to relevant third parties as their names and contributions doesn’t appear in those institutions.
Former employee Tumelo Mokoena said he was dismissed in 2021 for refusing to work in a dangerous and confined space without proper personal protection equipment and without training or experience of that work.
Mokoena said he also blame the firm to which Exsquizit is doing work for it for not making sure that companies contracted to them fully comply with labour laws and ensure safety of its employees.
“I was forced to work in a dangerous confined space having done no prior training for such work and without proper personal protection equipment, when I refuse I was suspended and later fired” he said.
“This big and well-known company is to be blamed for contracting company such as this one, that doesn’t respect safety of its employees and doesn’t abide to the labour laws of this country” said Mokoena
The company and the union representing the workers met earlier this month in Sasolburg through the mediation of th Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The employees’ union said once recognised by Exsquizit it will attend to the grievances of its members of which they are aware of.
Contacted by Puisano News, Exsquizit vehemently denied the allegations raised by its former and current employees. It rejected the allegation of paying salaries late and stated that this matter was raised with them previously and an audit has been done a number of times and this allegation has been proven to be false on all occasions.
“We have in fact even been audited by Department of Labour at their request and once again this was proven to be false,” said the respond from Exsquizit’s Human Resource Department.
It has also refused dismissing workers unfairly by claiming that it always adheres to its Disciplinary Code and has never been found by CCMA to have dismissed its workers unjustly.
The company also rejected the claims of exposing its workers to danger as safety to them is a core pillar of their operating model.
“We service Blue Chip clients that have very strict policies in place and continuously audit our compliance. We have never been found wanting in that regard,” said Exsquizit.
The company further denied allegations that it does not recognise the union and stated that it recently engaged it engaged in a verification process as part of our engagements with the union which are at an advanced stage.
Exsquizit added that: “We take our responsibility as an employer to heart. We acknowledge the efforts made by the members of our team that ensure our continued success and appreciate them.
We have internal processes and procedures which allow for the members of the team engage at any time with regards to any concerns that they may have. In this instance it would appear that they are unsatisfied with the response provided by the company and also the numerous other stakeholders, stakeholders requested by them to deal with their concerns.
We continue to encourage the team to engage with us and so too yourselves, should you have evidence to the contrary of our submission.”
