WALVIS BAY – Unfair labour practices and delaying tactics in dealing with labour cases were once again in the spotlight after employees of Pick n Pay accused the labour ministry of failing to hold the retailer accountable for their prolonged labour dispute.
Hundreds of Pick n Pay employees petitioned the labour commissioner yesterday countrywide, through the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) after a hearing that was supposed to start yesterday was postponed for the seventh time.
According to the employees, Pick n Pay failed to implement a wage agreement they signed on 3 November 2019 with Nafau, resulting in a dispute lodged with the office of the labour commissioner.
Shop steward Eugenia Haufiku explained that their wage agreement was signed for a period of three years, effective from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022. “The agreement stipulates that employees’ remunerations will be increased in each financial year as agreed by the parties. It was reached on the condition that some benefits were compromised so that the agreement can be implemented fully. However, the company only adhered to the agreement during the 2019/2020 financial year,” she explained.
As a result, she said, employees did not receive a salary increase for two years now and missed the compromised benefits.
According to Haufiku, the dispute has been stalled for almost three years since being lodged on 2 December 2020.
“This is despite section 82 of the Labour Act making provision for disputes to be finalised within 30 days. This ongoing postponement is deliberate and we want the labour commissioner to come out and tell us why our case cannot be finalised. The labour commissioner must tell us what is between his office and Pick n Pay,” she said.
According to the employees, the case has been postponed six times so far… “three times at the request of the company… where conciliators just agreed to unreasonable and invalid reasons provided by the company”.
“It was also postponed twice due to the unavailability of the conciliator. On another occasion, the case was set down on 11 October 2022 and the conciliator did not turn up resulting in another postponement,” the disappointed employees said.
According to them, the case was also supposed to be heard yesterday until 24 February but a notice was sent out that the conciliator’s resignation was effective 6 March.
“The case will not proceed today as a result thereof. Why can the conciliator not attend the case today 22 February if her last day at work will be on 6 March 2023? This is unacceptable,” charged an employee.
They say the delay is causing misery, as they did not get annual bonuses, housing allowance and other benefits for the past two years. According to them, a casual employee takes home about N$1 200 a month while permanent employees on average get about N$2 000.
“We are giving the labour commissioner 14 days to attend to our case and finalise it by end of March or we will demand that commissioner be relieved from his duties,” the workers threatened.
Nafau branch coordinator Johny Shiyuka also said that cases dealt with by conciliators have become a headache, as some of these cases have been dragging on for years.
“We are always disappointed by the labour offices at Walvis Bay. We have another pending case against Hangana, which is also a sister company of Pick n Pay. It is the same issue where a wage agreement was signed but not implemented. Until today, that case is pending,” he said.
An administrator of the labour office at Walvis Bay received the petition and as always, repeated the chorus that ‘it will be forwarded to the relevant office’. Questions sent to Ohlthaver and List about the issue are yet to be answered.