Workers around the globe will tomorrow converge in their respective countries to commemorate this year’s International Workers’ Day or, as it is popularly referred to, May Day. The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) will be commemorating the 17th May Day since independence, and their theme for this year is “Social Movements Affirm to Resist and Fight; Rights of people with disabilities, living wage, zero retrenchments and zero unemployment”. New Era’s reporter, Kuvee Kangueehi, had a Q&A interview with NUNW’s Secretary-General, Evilastus Kaaronda, about the labour situation in the country and his organization. Q: How would you describe the labour si-tuation in the country? A: The labour situation has been unstable and has been characterized by a lot of strikes, especially in the retail sector. Namibia is also witnessing a wave of retrenchments, which became prevalent in the second half of last year and beginning of this year. Labour hire companies are on the rise, and job security of many employees is being threatened. It is not the best of times for the workers and, despite the fact that the economy has been growing as desired, the gains have not been shared equally among citizens. And while corporate profits kept recording hyper growth, unemployment, poverty and hopelessness kept increasing, owing largely to uncontrolled restructuring and retrenchments. Q: Talking about retrenchments, how serious is this? A: Retrenchments have become a major concern and I should confess that it is not coming to an end. Corporate companies want to restructure and re-organize their companies in order to have small production costs. They want to make sure that the company only concentrates on the core business, and any other business is outsourced. Companies on a daily basis are cutting some departments, and these lead to retrenchments. But what is more worrying is that some companies such as National Housing Enterprise (NHE) and Windhoek Schlacterei are using these methods to dismiss workers unfairly or to cut the salaries. Q: Could you please explain? A: The companies target some employees and decide to restructure that department where the employee works. The company then restructures the department in such a way that the employee they have targeted becomes redundant, is retrenched, and then requested to re-apply, but at a lesser salary. We have seen cases where companies have targeted employees who are active union members or who are outspoken. These employees are simply victimized, and if the current retrenchment continues unabated it will have serious consequences. Q: What can be the consequences? A: Retrenchments lead to unemployment, and Namibia will be in a situation where we have a huge under-utilized labour force, which will be socially and economically isolated. Such a situation usually leads to a rise in crime, and all the political gains we now enjoy such as peace and stability will be threatened. Our peace is under threat because of the way our corporate companies operate. Q: What are your general impressions of the new labour bill, and how do you expect the law to address the issue of retrenchments? A: Generally, the bill is worker-friendly especially in regard to dispute solution. It is cheaper and speedy and will hopefully put an end to the long-drawn-out labour cases where the employee has to give up the legal battle because of costs. It will also reduce the animosity found in court settlements. What remains now is the training of the people to handle these disputes and, in fact, I am glad to note that training has started. However, the new bill does not address the rights of farm-workers, especially tenure rights for workers who have worked for more than 10 years on a farm. The issue of eviction is not addressed, and that is crucial for the welfare of farm-workers and their families. On retrenchments, the bill is mute and only requires the notice, which does not really address the core problem. Q: We witnessed a stormy situation prior to and during the congress, which put you into power, and which was characterized by a lot of infighting. How is the situation now? A: Frankly, things have changed and the turbulent situation under which we operated when we took, has cooled down. As leaders, we have found common ground and want to serve the workers as per the mandate we were given. We have consolidated our gains, and the understanding between the umbrella body and the affiliates is improving. Most of the affiliates such as Nantu and Nafau held their congresses and elected new leaders who enjoy a better understanding with the NUNW. Napwu will be holding its congress next month in Oshakati and also hopes to have a good understanding with them. The workers have finally taken charge of their union and have narrowed the gap between the workers and the leaders. Q: May Day functions have been poorly attended in the past compared to pre-independence. Do you still appeal to the workers? A: Yes, it is correct to say that maybe the union lost its relevance after independence, as it needs to re-orientate under a new system. But, following the labour unrest in the country over the last two years, the unions have become relevant. The situations at Ramatex and Rosh Pinah brought the workers closer to the union and they have started to understand the importance of the union. We have over 100000 members now and the number is growing, and in the past the NUNW appeared to be leading itself but now we are moving with the workers. We do not only want to address labour problems, but other social issues as well because our members are also parents. So,o if the education is bad, it affects our members as well. At times, people question why the union involves themselves in matters that are not purely labour-related, but they fail to understand that such issues affect our members – the workers. Q: You have been accused of being a mouthpiece of the ruling Swapo party. How does the affiliation to the party affect your role as a union for the workers? A: The marriage between the NUNW and the party has already started, and maybe it becomes a matter of which came first – the chicken or the egg. Before there was OPO or Swapo, there was a contract system and workers who organized themselves formed the OPO. That is why the pioneers of the party such as Dr Sam Nujoma and President Hifikepunye Pohamba were contract labourers. The enemy was one, and we defeated the enemy. After independence the workers met and at their congress and debated at length the issue of affiliation. Our last congress again reaffirmed that understanding. What people do not understand is that there is an affiliation accord and respect for autonomy of both parties. The accord clearly defines the role of the union, and the union can differ. So far, it has never compromised the rights and interests of the workers. I should admit that the affiliation has made the union stronger, but it makes things a bit difficult to resolve. Another important point is that the union affiliated to Swapo is NUNW and not its affiliates. Q: What other benefits does the union derive from affiliation? A: The union also represents the working class at the organization. Swapo has a lot of members such as government leaders, business tycoons, intellectuals, and you cannot leave it to the people alone to run the country. The interest of the workers must be heard and, being an affiliate, our interest is captured and accelerated because we are close. The relationship is also not static, and there are times when the affiliation affects the union more. Q: Where does the union see itself in the future? A: We are currently rebuilding the organization and people are starting to develop faith in the union. There was no trust in the leadership before and people were never honest with the workers. For example, people never took a stance against government, and the Ramatex is a classic example. It was only under the current leadership that the Ramatex issue was tackled. We are keeping our ears on the ground and want to understand the grievances of the workers. One area we want to explore in the near future is to set up a parliamentary office to follow the legislation process and to make proper contributions.