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Guards dismissed for demanding minimum wage … ‘approaching labour ministry is our biggest crime’

Guards dismissed for demanding minimum wage … ‘approaching labour ministry is our biggest crime’

SWAKOPMUND – Five security guards employed by the Big Five Security Services’ company in Swakopmund were served with retrenchment letters, days after seeking the labour ministry’s intervention.

They wanted the ministry to compel their employer to enforce the new minimum wage for the security sector.

Some earn as little as N$6.66 per hour.

The guards approached the labour office on 1 April 2025, requesting mediation over what they described as dangerous working conditions, long hours, and salaries below the legally-prescribed minimum wage. However, their attempts for a decent living wage have seemingly resulted in them receiving retrenchment letters via WhatsApp.

The minimum wage for security officers, effective from 1 January 2025, is N$13.50 per hour. 

It is scheduled to increase to N$16 per hour in 2026, and N$18 in 2027. 

Despite this, payslips seen by New Era show that some guards earn less than N$80 per day while working 12-hour shifts, often for 31 consecutive days, without compensation for overtime or public holidays.

Their monthly salaries reportedly range between N$2 300 and N$3 100.

“We were told that others are willing to work for less,” one of the guards claimed.

One of the affected employees, Ricardo Jackson, has been with the company for seven years. He said they had approached the labour ministry several times, but were continuously told to return at later dates.

“This is the third time we’ve gone to the ministry. The first time was 1 April. We were told to come back on 9 April after our boss was called. The labour official showed up late. The meeting was postponed to Tuesday, but now we were told to return this Thursday,” Jackson said.

He claimed that a labour inspector had advised them to return their uniforms in the meantime.

“How could he advise us on the uniforms while he had done nothing regarding our genuine concerns?” he questioned.

Jackson, who guards a remote area near Dune 7, recounted incidents where he was physically attacked while on duty, including one where he was stabbed several times.

“My boss, after the attack in 2022, dropped me at the MTC tower, and told me to get myself to the clinic. I went back with a sling on my arm and stab wounds to continue guarding. We don’t even have weapons. We’re risking our lives just to feed our families,” he charged.

Another worker, Kapumburu Kakoma, joined the company in December 2020. He said they are severely underpaid for the dangerous nature of the work.

Delays in matter

Petres Gowaseb, who joined the company in 2024, raised concerns over the ministry’s delays and the cost of repeated trips between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

“We just wanted the minimum wage to be explained to our employer so that we agree in the presence of the ministry on our salaries. I get paid N$6.66 per hour for standing in the cold without any weapon to defend myself. I feared for my life. That is why we all approached the ministry,” a disappointed Gowaseb said.

He added that he lives in Walvis Bay and travelled three times to the ministry’s office in Swakopmund, but to no avail.

“We are three travelling from Swakopmund, and have spent N$900 in total without being assisted. Imagine earning N$2 300 and spending N$400 on transport, just to be fired,” he lamented.

When contacted for comment, Big Five Security Services’ representative, only identified as Petrus Derks, told New Era that he will not comment on the questions sent to him. “No comment on the above… Please do not contact me,” he responded.

The matter has been reported to the labour ministry.edeklerk@nepc.com.na