RUNDU – The more than 100 employees of OK Foods in Rundu who downed tools on 13 May 2024 against low wages will be back at work tomorrow.
The workers from OK Foods in Nkurenkuru resumed today.
Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) representative Paulus Mushongo confirmed this with Nampa in an interview here yesterday.
He said the management of OK Foods and Nafau reached a settlement agreement, which the workers are satisfied with.
“As we speak, the office of the labour commissioner is busy drafting the memorandum of understanding, which will be signed by both parties later today (yesterday),” Mushongo said.
He informed this news agency that OK Foods decided to increase the workers’ salaries by N$300, and added an additional N$90 as transport allowance.
The last time workers’ salaries were increased was in 2002.
“OK Foods wanted to give its workers N$142 with no benefits on top of their already low salary of N$1 300,” Mushongo said.
He said before the agreement, the union was negotiating for an increase of N$350 across the board, and a transport allowance of N$250 as a benefit.
However, the workers are happy with the agreement the two parties reached and are looking forward to new negotiations next year.
On his part, OK Foods managing director Jose Machado said he is happy they reached an agreement, adding it could have happened earlier if the union had been reasonable in its negotiations.
“We could have avoided the strike altogether had we discussed this earlier,” he said.
-Nampa