By Petronella Sibeene
WINDHOEK
The planned strike by the country’s security guards has been put on hold at least temporarily after the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare warned that the action would be illegal.
This week, Natau, a union that represents the guards announced that security guards would go on strike beginning yesterday after their demands for better conditions of service and pay were turned down.
But the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare warned that the strike would be illegal and may have serious repercussions for the workers.
Ulitalah Hiveluah, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Services, in a letter addressed to the Namibian Transport and Allied Worker’s Union (Natau) secretary-general Johannes Kwedhi said, any dispute arising from the negotiations in terms of the Collective Agreement should be settled through Conciliation or Arbitration and not by withdrawal of labour.
Hiveluah advised that Natau should ensure that any step taken is in line with the Labour Commission’s Office in terms of the Labour Act of 1992.
The union should exhaust the provided dispute resolution mechanisms.
This would ensure that law protects the intended action, she said. She added that negotiations on the minimum wage entry have not actually reached a deadlock such that workers affected can resort to withdrawal of labour.
The last positions of the parties according to Hiveluah was that the Security Association of Namibia (SAN) offered N$27, 25 per shift whereas the unions were at N$46,80 per shift.
“Both parties had indicated their willingness to continue negotiating the minimum wage in good faith”, said the Permanent Secretary.
The issue being disputed by the unions Hiveluah added is on whether the forum has the mandate to negotiate salary increments across all security companies as demanded by the unions especially that the SAN indicated it did not have the mandate.
“This is the issue being disputed by the unions, which ultimately led to the dispute in question. Our advise is that in terms of Clause 10.3 of the current Collective Agreement between the parties, any dispute arising from negotiations should be settled through Conciliation”, she said. Hiveluah said the ministry is willing to continue chairing the negotiations and help the parties reach an agreement to the satisfaction of all.
Yesterday, Kwedhi confirmed that a letter has been written to the Labour Commissioner requesting for the establishment of Conciliation Board.
“If nothing comes out of the board, we will not back down, the strike will take place,” he said. The letter proposed that the Board consists of six representatives on either side.
Kwedhi said in April this year, Natau together with the Namibia Security Guards and Watchmen’s Union (NASGWU) and the SAN agreed to negotiate a minimum wage for security officers. The unions proposed a 15 percent salary increase across the board, replacement fee for absentees, pension fund and uniforms.
However, the SAN representative informed the forum that their council resolved they would not negotiate any salary increase as demanded by the unions but only a minimum wage at entry level.
Chairperson of the negotiating committee of SAN Johannes Kapembe told New Era that based on the collective agreement signed, salary negotiations would only apply on the entrance level and not other categories. As such, salaries at different levels can only be negotiated between the unions and individual companies as employers differ in paying their employees.
“Incomes are not the same, let salary increase be agreed individually, let individuals justify their incomes,” he said.
He added that security guards protect valuable assets in the country and that if they resort to a strike action, crime would go up and clients of security companies would be grossly affected.
On Monday, the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) announced its support for the idea that representative bodies of security guards in the country institute measures aimed at improving salaries.
NUNW Secretary General Evilastus Kaaronda told a press briefing that SAN should change its position and start negotiations to avoid what may become one of the prolonged strikes in Namibia.
Last week, security guards across the country threatened they would go on strike this week if the Security Association of Namibia (SAN) does not make an acceptable salary and wage offer to its workers.
Kaaronda said security guards throughout the country are subjected to unfair working conditions.
Apart from working in the dark without adequate protective clothing and fire arms, they are only paid starvation wage of N$2,09 an hour for a twelve hour shift which amounts to N$25, 00 a day. This roughly translates to a mere N$700,00 a month.
“We will not allow these workers to continue receiving such poor salaries without any benefits despite the work they do for these insensitive employers”, he said.
The SAN has according to Kaaronda has committed itself to recognition of the importance of sound labour relations, and maintenance of industrial peace and stability but failed to discuss wage increases.
“It is absurd to note that they would instead discuss the adjustment of the minimum wage for the entry level of security officers,” he said. There are 165 employers in the Security Guard industry with 17 000 workers. Thirty-three employers are affected by the ongoing dispute and 11 000 employees are members of the unions.