The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has been restrained by court from forging ahead with its decisions to cut employees’ leave payouts from 90 to 45 days and to discontinue annual salary notch increments.
The order was given by judge Kobus Miller after the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) filed an urgent application last week.
Miller restrained the national broadcaster from taking any further “unilateral” revision of staff leave days and discontinuation of salary notch increases.
Miller further ordered that the court order may remain in force until the labour dispute between NBC and Napwu is resolved.
Napwu that allegedly tried to engage NBC prior, sought the court’s intervention after the broadcaster had on 11 October 2021 indicated in a staff circular that it would discontinue paying out 90 leave days when an employee leaves the service of the NBC – citing those employees who have accumulated huge numbers of leave days, are in violation of the NBC’s leave provisions and the Labour Act.
The NBC also informed its staff that the normal annual salary increments provided to qualifying staff would be discontinued due to the company’s deplorable financial situation.
All decisions were expected to take effect from 1 April 2022.
The NBC’s decision comes 10 days after its director general Stanley Similo informed Napwu secretary general Petrus Nevonga on 1 October 2021 that the union no longer holds “the 51% plus one majority required to remain the exclusive bargaining unit” at the broadcaster.
In their communique, the NBC said, “Your union membership as of 1 October is 247, translating to 45.4% of the total workforce of 522 employees.”
The termination action is based on the recognition agreement signed in 2011.
NBC and Napwu have been at loggerhead over the employees’ salaries, better working conditions, equipment as well as for contract workers to receive permanent employment – it has resulted in an industrial action earlier this year.
However, the workers abandoned the strike after a month when the NBC instituted the no-work no-pay principle.