WINDHOEK – Labour hire company, African Personnel Services (APS) has apologised for its past labour practices and for the damage it has caused Namibian workers, as well as trade unions.
The apology was tendered by the company’s financial director Robert de Villiers last week in a public statement to the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW). De Villiers says APS has in the past insisted on a law that stated that bargaining units must have signed up 50 members, plus 1 percent of the company’s total workforce, but due to the fact that unions only cater for specific industry this was not possible and this left workers of the APS unrepresented.
“We therefore assure the Namibian worker and the country at large that these practices would not be repeated by APS again,” he said. APS has made a new proposal about union representation to the NUNW and all its affiliates, a proposal which if accepted would see APS workers having union representation for the first time.
He further said APS is committed to the Labour Act and assured the NUNW and its affiliated that all labour matters will be solved between them as employers and affiliates.
Accepting the apology, NUNW acting Secretary General, Job Muniaro, said the federation has accepted the apology. “We are also accepting the APS proposal of signing a recognition agreement that would be extended to our affiliates,” he said. Muniaro says he is looking forward to harmonious relations with APS and the NUNW family. “We will work hard to contribute to the economic growth of our country,” he said.
By Kuzeeko Tjitemisa