The mayor of Pietermaritzburg used her counselling skills to talk a municipal worker out of a dramatic suicide on Tuesday.

Anele Hlatshwayo, a granddaughter of Chief Albert Luthuli, was called out of a meeting when the man threatened to jump from Natalia House, a building with 17 storeys.

The worker, from the municipality's water department, had decided to jump from the building after a disagreement with the salary department over his pay, Hlatshwayo told Sapa.

He had panicked when he was paid only R346 for the past month, Hlatshwayo said.

Pay had been subtracted for sick leave after he hurt his knee and the department disputed his filing of related documentation.

He had also been worried about providing for his family and an as-yet-unborn baby.

"I said 'I promise you, if you come down we'll sort it out'," Hlatshwayo revealed.

"After a while he came down. At least I was lucky to be able to use my counselling skills."

After talking him down from the building, she had met the man in her office and sorted out the pay issue.

Hlatshwayo used to be a teacher and guidance counsellor at the Pietermaritzburg College.

Albert Luthuli was president of the African National Congress and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.