Mbabane- Laboratory workers at Mbabane Government Hospital today voiced frustration over delayed salary adjustments and prolonged contract-based employment, which they say has left many in financial and emotional distress.
The workers say many of them have been employed in the hospital’s laboratories for years, yet remain on rolling one-year contracts, with some now shifted to even shorter three-month agreements.
The employee claim some have worked under such conditions for 17 years, questioning how workers are expected to access loans or plan their lives without permanent employment.
At the centre of the dispute is a payment structure the workers say was agreed upon following a consultant’s report. According to the employees, the government had recommended that they be placed under the C3 salary scale, with the process progressing through draft stages, a pre-final report, and ultimately a signed collective agreement.
However, the workers allege that despite these agreements, the recommendations have not been implemented. They further claim that employees in other government ministries have already received their adjusted salaries, while laboratory staff have been excluded.
Efforts by unions to resolve the matter have reportedly yielded little progress. The workers say the issue was escalated to the Public Service authorities about six months ago, but meetings have been repeatedly postponed, often on a monthly basis, without a clear resolution.
” We agreed on having a meeting today, but they cancelled on the eleventh hour,” said one of the employees.
The situation has also taken a toll on workers’ wellbeing. Staff members report that the laboratories are severely understaffed, contributing to increased workloads and stress. Some employees are said to have been admitted to hospital wards due to anxiety and depression linked to the ongoing uncertainty. Others have sought mental health support to cope with the strain.
” We are attending mental classes at psych because of this, we hoped the salary review will change our live, but here we are today,” he stressed.
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