WALVIS BAY – About 90 permanent employees of Gendev Fishing Group were sent home last week, shortly after arriving for work.
Workers who alerted New Era to the latest development on Thursday are unsure of what the future holds.
The latest development comes after the company, following deliberations with the minister of labour, Wise Immanuel, put the retrenchment of at least 400 workers on hold in February.
According to workers, they were instructed to remove all their belongings from the company’s premises and await further communication.
Shop steward Chris Shishoona confirmed that the employees were sent home and that only management remained behind.
In addition, Namibian Seamen and Allied Workers Union president Paulus Hango also confirmed the development.
“The company notified the union, but this is very concerning, and we are not satisfied with the way this situation is being handled. The workers are very concerned and scared. They do not know if they still have jobs,” Hango said yesterday.
Gendev has been facing financial difficulties due to a lack of quota allocation. In February, the company notified the ministry of labour of a contemplated retrenchment of 489 employees.
The company previously issued a notice to initiate a mandatory consultation process before any final decision is taken. “At this stage, no final decision has been made, and this notice is issued in good faith to comply with statutory requirements for consultation,” the company stated earlier.
Gendev indicated that the potential retrenchments are due to sustained financial losses, reduced revenue, and increased operational costs. Board member Paulina Haindongo did not respond to questions.
However, she previously said the company had received only 3 351 metric tonnes of wet horse mackerel quota for 2026, while its vessels and factory have a catching, landing, processing, and freezing capacity of 45 000 metric tonnes per year.
“It is impossible to sustain employees, vessels and a factory of such magnitude with a 3 351 metric tonne quota,” she said.
Additionally, Gendev employees were also informed last week that their salaries for March will be delayed.
Furthermore, Immanuel could not be reached for comment.
However, the spokesperson for the minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform, Romeo Muyunda, yesterday told New Era that they are unable to respond to the matter.
“We are unable to comment at this point, since this is a labour issue which falls under the jurisdiction of another authority,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hango told New Era that unions in the fishing industry are planning a mass demonstration today in Walvis Bay.
He said this is to oppose the government’s planned auction of fishing quotas, as outlined in the government circular earlier this month. The government intends to auction 6 223 metric tonnes of hake to the highest bidders, with a minimum price of N$9 000 per metric tonne for freezer fish and N$7 000 per metric tonne for wet fish.