MBABANE – Maloma Colliery employees have been ordered to end their strike after the Industrial Court ruled on Wednesday that the work stoppage was unlawful.
The court restrained the workers, who are represented by the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA), from continuing the industrial action that began on Monday, July 13, 2026.
The ruling followed an urgent application by the mining company, which approached the court after employees blocked access to its premises during a dispute over wages. 
At the centre of the standoff is the company’s offer of a cumulative nine per cent salary increase spread across two years, made up of five per cent for 2026 and four per cent for 2027. Talks conducted through the recognised collective bargaining process stalled, and workers downed tools.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that employees had occupied its entrance and obstructed normal access to the workplace despite repeated appeals to vacate peacefully. It said this forced it to instruct its lawyers to seek urgent court relief to protect staff safety, safeguard operations and restore access.
Maloma Colliery maintained that it had bargained in good faith and remained open to concluding a collective agreement through the recognised structures set out in the Recognition Agreement. It said the dispute had grown beyond the pay offer to matters better resolved within those bargaining channels.
The company also listed benefits paid to workers over the past seven months, among them a 13th cheque in December, a 14th cheque in January for back-to-school costs, monthly food rations and a production bonus last month.
While acknowledging the right of employees to raise workplace grievances, the company called on them to observe the rule of law and comply with any court orders as the parties work towards a settlement.
