When Mxolisi Tshabalala was hijacked in August last year while working, he thought the trauma of being held at gunpoint would be the worst part of the ordeal.
Little did he know that he’d not only have to deal with flashbacks from the incident, but he was also dismissed from work for theft and his provident fund payout was allegedly withheld.
Tshabalala, 33, was fired on October 19 2023 from Anax Logistics after a disciplinary hearing held in absentia. In a letter communicated to him, and seen by TimesLIVE Premium, Tshabalala was found guilty on seven charges, including misappropriation/theft of bulk fuel, breaching company policy by tampering with communication and tracking devices, abscondment and gross dishonesty. He was permanently employed at the company for six years.
He denies the charges, explaining that the entire saga stemmed from his hijacking in August while he was on his way to offload fuel in Mbombela (Nelspruit).
“They took the truck and dumped me in a veld. I then managed to hitchhike to the nearest police station near Malelane to open a case but was sent to [Mbombela] as that’s where the incident happened.
“After I opened a case, I alerted the company to what happened, but they delayed and never came to the police station. The truck was eventually found because I had followed the procedure when the hijacking happened and raised the alarm. They found the truck [in Mbombela] with the product still intact.”
A relieved but traumatised Tshabalala then made his way back home to recover from the ordeal and to await further instructions from his employer.
The 33-year-old says he noticed that there was something wrong when he didn’t get his salary the following month.
“When I called, I was told to come to Durban to our depot. I asked how I was supposed to get there when my salary had been withheld,” he explained.
Tshabalala got no explanation, but he soon found out why his salary had been withheld, because he was being charged in connection with the incident.
He was eventually dismissed despite never attending the disciplinary hearing to answer for the charges. He says he was only given the date of the hearing but no details as to where it would take place.
Despite what he deemed as unfair dismissal, Tshabalala opted not to challenge the decision but take his money and leave “for the sake of peace”. This proved impossible as he was told that his provident fund contributions of nearly R100,000 would not be paid out because the company apparently needed to recover some costs owed to it. This despite the fact that he was never asked to sign an acknowledgment of debt.
To date, he said he’s only received a payout from the road freight and logistics bargaining council.
I asked HR and they confirmed that my money had been withheld. There were people dismissed after me for other things, but they got their monies.
— Mxolisi Tshabalala
“I asked HR and they confirmed that my money had been withheld. There were people dismissed after me for other things, but they got their monies.
“So when I ask HR, I was told that they’re [allegedly] withholding the money to recover the costs relating to the truck, the money used to tow the truck [from Mbombela]. They said I must pay that money.”
This aggrieved Tshabalala as all he wanted was to receive his payout and move on with his life. He opted not to approach the department of labour as he said he’d seen how lengthy the process had been for others in a similar situation at Anax. He said he was unable to turn to the union as it had “failed me a lot”.
“I don't want to report them or anything like that, I just want them to release my money so we can part ways,” he said.
TimesLIVE Premium reached out to two former Anax employees, who said they too were dismissed for similar offences and faced the same challenges in getting their provident fund payouts. Both said they were fired before Covid-19.
Kagiso resident Ofentse Gabaocoe said he worked for Anax for four years before his axing for allegedly stealing fuel. He says they used footage capturing the alleged theft to pin him but denies any involvement in the actual incident.
“We were taken to a disciplinary hearing and told we won’t get paid. They actually just wanted to dismiss us over a strike we’d staged before, so they needed a loophole,” he said.
Gabaocoe was also told he would not get his payout as the company needed to recoup its losses from his alleged theft.
“I never got a cent from the provident fund they said they were deducting. In the end, I just left the matter because they moved office,” he said.
According to Ishmael Hlophe, he was fired after a three-year stint at the company in connection with Gabaocoe’s case.
He was accused of alerting his colleagues to the presence of cameras at the site of the alleged theft and “punished” for the tip-off.
“It’s worse in my case because there’s no point where I appear in the footage. I heard through other people that I was accused of tipping off the alleged culprits about the cameras,” he said.
While Hlophe doesn’t deny his presence at the scene, as it’s a resting area for drivers. He said all he did was warn his colleagues to stop what they were doing as there were cameras.
“I’m still waiting for the provident fund to this day. I followed up last year ... and they asked for my details but never got back to me,” he said.
TimesLIVE Premium reached out to Anax for comment and while MD Eric Mgqibelo acknowledged receipt of the publication’s email, no response was received at the time of publication.
A labour expert also weighed in on the issue, saying the company’s actions were unlawful in Tshabalala’s case, according to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Pension Funds Act.
“In summary, section 34(2) prohibits an employer making any deductions from monies due to an employee, be they salary/wages, leave pay, notice pay or severance pay,” said Dunstan Farrell.
He also referenced the Pension Funds Act, which “prohibits an employer from making any deductions from an employee’s provident fund/pension fund benefits unless:
- there is written consent from the employee;
- there is a criminal conviction;
- a civil judgment.”
“The employer in the current instance was therefore acting unlawfully,” he said.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli confirmed that a hijacking case was opened in regard to Tshabalala’s matter but could not immediately provide details on the outcome of the case.
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