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Business

N$2 million recovered from resolved labour complaints

2025-05-122025-05-12By Staff Reporter
N$2 million recovered from resolved labour complaints

The justice and labour relations’ ministry, through its labour inspectorate, has successfully recovered more than N$2 million on behalf of disgruntled employees from their non-compliant employers between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. 

This amount was part of unpaid wages and other statutory entitlements unlawfully withheld from employees by their employers across various sectors of the economy during the 2024/25 financial year.

These recovered amounts were from 3 317 of 4 176 labour complaints lodged with the ministry during that period. The instances of non-compliance related to non-payment of remuneration; non-payment of overtime; non-payment for work done on Sundays and public holidays, and/or unauthorised and excessive deductions from employees’ salaries. The ministry said the ongoing trend of non-compliance by employers is a great concern.

The highest recoveries were from the central region (Windhoek, Gobabis, Rehoboth, Okahandja, Omaruru, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay), where more than N$700 000 was collected, while the least amount of N$130 608 was recovered from the southern region (Mariental, Keetmanshoop, Karasburg, Noordower, Rosh Pinah, Oranjemund and Lüderitz).

“This recovery underscores the ministry’s commitment to protecting workers’ rights and enforcing the law. However, it paints a troubling picture on the side of the employers who have been found to be unwilling or failing to meet their most basic obligations to their employees,” the ministry stated. 

Meanwhile, the ministry conducted a total of 1 739 workplace inspections in terms of Basic Conditions of Employment during the same period. Of these inspections, 1 380 workplaces were found to be compliant while 353 were in contravention of the provisions of the labour law. Basic Conditions of Employment include remuneration, hours of work, leave days, provision of accommodation and termination of employment, as stipulated in Chapter 3 of the Labour Act.

The ministry urged all employers to prioritise compliance as a legal requirement and a moral responsibility towards their workforce without a demand  of mediation.