Windhoek
Several security companies, some having lucrative government tenders, still do not pay their guards the minimum wage as prescribed by law.
It has also become a norm for some security companies, many of which front for some influential people, to deny their employees leave days while some also fail to pay their workers on time, while the owners of the companies live in luxury.
Namibia Independent Security Union (NISU) presented New Era with a list of companies, some well known, that are not registered with the Social Security Commission (SSC) and which pay salaries by hand, which is unsafe and leaves no paper record.
Some also don’t have offices and a business address and are in essence briefcase companies.
Shockingly, some of these security companies committing these acts rake in millions of dollars from the lucrative tenders awarded them by government.
New Era has also reported it has been a year since the minimum wage for domestic workers was introduced, but employees are yet to reap the fruits of the legally prescribed minimum wage as well.
NISU secretary general Kandondo Simon Kandondo told New Era they are conducting an investigation of companies not complying with the minimum wage as per government gazette and the Labour Act, and regarding payment on Sundays and public holidays.
He said some companies pay as little as N$3.80 to N$5.00 per hour, instead of the required N$7.00. As take-home pay some guards get a basic salary of as little as N$1 600 without any fringe benefits.
According to Kandondo, security guards lodge complaints at his office about their employees on a daily basis.
“After investigating these companies we will lodge disputes against these companies and submit them to the labour commission and take them to court. We will also write letters to clients of these companies they render services to – that they are misusing their employees. Only employers benefit, while workers suffer,” said Kandondo.
He said clients of these companies are expected to take action against security companies and failure to do so they will also be taken to court, as a second respondent.
Kandondo added that some of these companies employ new people every month because they get rid of the old employees whom they failed to pay their monthly salaries.
This week NISU attended to several employees who did not receive their salaries for two months.
Kandondo said they called the employer who vowed to pay the employees, but he did not. The employer also started ignoring calls from the union.
Kandondo said the company does not have an office or known business address where they could approach the owner.
“Some of these employers are also threatening to shoot employees when they ask for their salaries,” said Kandondo.