WINDHOEK – At the end of the month of September 2013 construction workers in Namibia can expect a 9 percent increase in their minimum wages. This is after both the Construction Industries Federation (CIF) and the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU) agreed that the new minimum wage would come into effect on September 15.
Both parties had previously agreed that the increase in minimum wages is to become applicable as soon as their collective agreement became law and is promulgated in the Government Gazette. As soon as both parties signed an agreement on conditions of employment, including minimum wages, in the construction industry a request for extension of the new “Minimum Wage Agreement” to the construction sector at large was directly submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. However, according to Bärbel Kirchner, consulting general manager at CIF, four months after the signing ceremony the collective agreement is not yet promulgated by government.
The wage agreement clearly stipulates the minimum wage requirements in Namibia’s construction industry. Of immediate relevance to the industry is the adjustment to the minimum wage, which is to be increased by 9 percent for the first year and 9.5 percent the subsequent year. The increase for the first year of 9 percent will be applicable from September 15, 2013 until May 31, 2014. For the subsequent year the increase of 9.5 percent will be applicable from June 1, 2014 until May 31, 2015.
Changes to the previous collective agreement also includes an adjustment of the service allowance from 120 hours to 144 hours. Thus every worker will be paid equal to 144 hours of his/her wage, which will be part of the remuneration in December. This allowance will be calculated pro-rata for each fully worked month that the employee was in service during that specific year. This part of the agreement also became effective as from September 15.
“As the collective agreement is an industry-wide agreement, all construction companies are required to respect wage and other labour requirements as stipulated in the collective agreement; and government procurement must ensure that tenders do not reflect less favourable conditions than set out in the agreement,” stated Kirchner.
The Construction Industries Federation is an autonomous, non-governmental and apolitical organisation. The organization looks after the interests of contractors and traders in Namibia’s construction industry and promotes the respect of Namibia’s labours laws. “We facilitate the ongoing training and transfer of skills and we encourage fair tender processes to ensure that Namibians get employed,” he said.
By Staff Reporter