By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK The Secretary-General of the Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN) Joseph Hengari has expressed concern over the recent spate of daily dismissals of employees at the diamond polishing and cutting company Lev Leviev Diamonds (LLD). Managing Director of the Israeli-based LLD Diamonds Namibia, Kombadayedu Kapwanga, in an interview with New Era yesterday dismissed Hengari’s remarks saying that those expelled were found to be in breach of the company’s conditions of service. While he could not indicate how many employees have been dismissed and in what space of time, the Managing Director said LLD trains young people in cutting and polishing diamonds, thus those found stealing the precious stones were fired after going through the normal disciplinary procedures. Hengari expressed his concerns yesterday during the signing of a recognition agreement between LLD and MUN. The signing of the recognition and procedural agreement between the two parties comes after several calls from the employees at the company. The agreement demands that regulatory labour solutions be established. The agreement further directs that a disputes-resolving mechanism between LLD and MUN, management and the employees be introduced. “The purpose of this agreement is to regulate the relationship between the company and the union and to improve industrial relations and industrial peace between MUN and LLD Diamonds,” Hengari said. Towards the end of July 2006, about 400 workers laid down their tools after the company took a decision to permanently employ 356 workers. The unrest came after the LLD management announced its intention to permanently employ most of its temporary workers who had for the previous three years been on training. However, the employees disagreed with the conditions that were attached to their contracts and staged a two-day demonstration. About 500 young Namibians are engaged in diamond cutting and polishing at the firm. In their petition to management, workers demanded a basic salary of N$3 500 and payment for overtime, Sunday and public holiday work. According to Hengari, the union and LLD management will attempt to reconcile any differences through dialogue, discussions and consultation on issues of mutual interest. The secretary general regards the signing of this agreement as overdue especially that Namibia is faced with continuous labour unrest. National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) Secretary-General, Evilastus Kaaronda, in a recent interview with New Era described the labour situation in the country as unstable and characterized by a lot of strikes, especially in the retail sector. Namibia is also witnessing a wave of retrenchments, which became prevalent in the second half of last year and beginning of this year. In addition, labour hire companies are on the rise, and job security of many employees is being threatened. It is not the best of times for the workers and, despite the fact that the economy has been growing as desired, the gains have not been shared equally among citizens. And while corporate profits keep recording hyper growth, unemployment, poverty and hopelessness keep increasing, owing largely to uncontrolled restructuring and retrenchments, he said. “We hope both parties (LLD and MUN) will respect the agreement to avoid the labour situation the country is faced with today,” Hengari stated.