Iuze Mukube

Contractual ward cleaners of the City of Windhoek are imploring management to follow the Labour Commissioner’s directive that all 556 of them must be recruited permanently. 

They also say they will not sign any further contracts, particularly the recent five-year contract that the City has put forth. 

During a gathering on Monday at the Solid Waste Management facility, the workers demonstrated their tenacity and will to work there permanently, especially after their contracts ended on 31 July 2024.

It was discovered that there are no employee perks included in the contracts, including medical aid, pension, compensation for overtime and salary increments.

Obed Tjiroze, an elderly cleaner, sobbed in pain, saying that he and many others had been working for the City on contracts since 1993. 

For them, it is hard to predict how their futures will pan out because they have worked for a long time without pensions and benefits.

“We are poorly-remunerated. We don’t live decently, and we have children and can’t afford school. The prices of goods have drastically increased, and this makes things difficult for us, and this has put us in a sorry state.”

He added that despite making about N$3 000 a month, they receive no pension or medical aid, and they must pay their medical expenses when they fall sick.

Immanuel Mbenda, an employee representative, described the situation as dire because of the poor working conditions they are in, and the fact that many of them have become ill from picking up rubbish in filthy areas without wearing protective gear like gloves and masks.

“We are the ones who clean filthy riverbeds and sewage sites. Occasionally, we uncover dead remains of abandoned animals and newborns, which we must pick up with our hands physically. The offensive odour is also unhealthy,” he said.

He is adamant that they will not sign contracts under the current circumstances that the administration is pressuring them to sign.

Another employee, Kavenouua Nguvauva, stated that since 2018, the workers have struggled to secure permanent jobs. 

“We have been in hard times – even in our working conditions. We don’t work in good conditions. As you can see, we don’t even have overalls,” the distressed employee vented. 

He said they wanted to know why they were not getting benefits like others, and that no one gave them answers when they asked.

Responding to New Era on the matter, City spokesperson Haroldt Akwenye said they would hold a press conference today. 

“We are having a press briefing on Wednesday, and that topic will be discussed there,” he stated briefly on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Windhoek municipal councillor and Affirmative Repositioning movement leader Job Amupanda concurred that the Labour Commissioner’s decision that all employees be recruited permanently will yield positive developments.

“Those people have suffered for too long. I spent three years just fighting inside council, but the corrupt elements inside were opposing permanent employment through a City-owned company. I am glad the Labour Commission put an end to this fiasco,” he said. 

Another activist, Landless People’s Movement’s latest recruit, Michael Amushelelo, was elated that the matter had finally reached a logical conclusion.

“It is a shame that these workers needed to be teargassed and arrested so that they could finally become permanent workers. Over 20 years, they have been exploited,” he said.

-mukubeiuze@gmail.com