WINDHOEK – The stand-off in the fuel industry has finally come to an end after the five trade unions representing workers in the industry and the Association of Service Station Owners (Asso) signed a two-year minimum wage agreement yesterday morning.
However, the dust has not yet settled in the fuel service station business sector, with trade unions still fighting to have service station owners reinstate workers fired during the few days of the national strike that took place in July.
“I am calling on Asso to have a look into the matter and address it as soon as possible. The strike was legal and therefore no one should have been blacklisted or dismissed,” Namibia Fuel and Allied Workers Union (Nafawu) secretary general David Frans said yesterday. “We call upon the government to urgently investigate these claims and call these employers to order,” he added.
The parties agreed on N$7.20 per hour minimum wage for all fuel attendants and fuel cashiers. The agreement is effective from January 2015, but first has to be gazetted before it goes into effect. The minimum wage agreed to would be for a pariod of two years.
The minimum wage agreed to will only cover the normal eight working hours, as the overall overtime wages would have to be agreed by workers and their respective employers. The overtime wages will nevertheless be based on the provided minimum wage.
The five trade unions are Nafawu, Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN), Metal and Allied Workers Union (Manwu), Namibia Wholesaler Retail Workers Union (NWRWU) and the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NFawu).
The five unions had marathon negotiations since the strike by petrol service attendants and workers in the fuel retail industry in July this year. The trade unions and the service station owners only agreed on the text for a minimum wage last week Friday, September 26, with the assinstnace of the labour ministry, which translated into the agreement signed yesterday in Windhoek.
At the signing of the agreement, Frans complimented Asso representatives for quick response to their grievances.
However, Frans is still disappointed that some Asso members and individual service station owners have blacklisted and dismissed workers that participated in the strike.
Last week he said the union forwarded complaints of blacklisted and dismissed workers to the labour commissioner for conciliation and arbitration.
“We promise not to leave any stone unturned in getting justice to the cases of dismissed workers. This is absurd and illegal, we denounce these evil doings with the strongest terms they deserve as it contradicts the provisions of the Labour Act 11 of 2007,” he said
In July service station workers in Oshana, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Omusati and Khomas took to the streets demanding a wage increase from the current range of between N$250 and N$800 per month to a minimum of N$4 500.