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Staff lose pay for being in the toilet 'too much'

HOLD IT: This man, known only as Lukman, is alleged to be restricting workers to less than five minutes toilet time or he docks their pay. Pic. Antonio Muchave. 18/06/08. © Sowetan.
HOLD IT: This man, known only as Lukman, is alleged to be restricting workers to less than five minutes toilet time or he docks their pay. Pic. Antonio Muchave. 18/06/08. © Sowetan.

Luzuko Pongoma

Luzuko Pongoma

The salaries of illegal immigrants working at Mr Curtain at the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, are allegedly being docked because they spend "too much time" in the toilet, Sowetan has learnt.

Dudu Zango, who is in the country on a study permit, said workers were allocated time to go to the toilet and if they took longer, their boss deducted money from their salaries.

She said she had never received a payslip despite working for the company for five years.

The workers say they know their employer, a Pakistani, only as Lukman.

"Lukman is abusive, he swears at me every day and is always threatening to deduct money from my salary," Zango said.

"The bosses do not forget to check the time when we arrive or go to the toilet, but they forget to pay our salaries," she said.

When Sowetan confronted Lukman, he refused to give his full names. He said he was doing nothing wrong by watching his workers on CCTV all the time.

He said the workers should go to their union if they wanted to complain, and not to the media.

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