WINDHOEK – The Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) welcomed an agreement reached last week Friday to end a two-week strike over pay and other conditions of service by hundreds of disgruntled Hilton Hotel employees.
Late on Tuesday, Nafau signed a wage deal that secured a 15 percent salary increase for category A employees, meaning those earning N$2 000 or less and an 11 percent increase for category B employees or those earning between N$2 001 to N$2 500, as well as an 8 percent increase for category C employees or those earning N$2 501 and more.
The parties also agreed on a 50 percent bonus for this month and the remainder to be paid in January the following year. The issue of the housing allowance was also shelved until next year. Nafau regional organiser Simon Muukapo said it has been a long journey, since negotiations began two weeks ago. “Today we are very pleased to have put our signature on the final settlement agreement with Hilton management,” he said. He however advises all companies to work closely with unions to avoid unnecessarily strikes. “Strikes are costly and they do not only affect workers and employers, but the economy of the country,” he said. He further said he hopes that lessons have been learned from the Hilton strike. “We hope that as parties we will take all the learning into the future in order to improve our bargaining model and the sustainability of our industry. We still have key challenges ahead of us as an industry and the signatures themselves are not a means to an end,” he said. All workers were expected back at work yesterday already.
An estimated 300 waiters, cleaners, receptionists and cooks took to the street two weeks ago in direct response to what workers describe as pathetic salaries and poor conditions of service. The starting salary for employees at the Hilton is between N$950 and N$1 500 and employees are usually dropped off and picked up from their homes and therefore receive no transport allowance. However, the employees were unhappy over the fact that they do not receive any other benefits, except for a medical aid benefit that is not recognised by the majority of local doctors, according to them. Hilton Hotel general manager John McAree was unavailable for comment at the time of going to print.
By Kuzeeko Tjitemisa