2017-01-19Staff Report 2 Walvis Bay - About 300 disgruntled employees of Embwiinda/Cadilu are accusing their operations manager, Miguel Antonio, of arbitrarily reducing the number of employees at the company. The said reduction in the workforce was not negotiated and thus compels the company’s workers to work under undue pressure. The workers also accuse human resources manager Rosina Moshoeshoe of nepotism and favouritism. The workers, who on Wednesday lunchtime handed over a petition to the company, claimed that due to staff reductions each worker has on average been doing work that would normally be handled by four people. Speaking on behalf of the employees, Wakka Dausas said the company has also stopped them from working overtime and as a result their take-home earnings have dropped. “Antonio stopped some of us from working overtime and those working nightshift have fewer hours, which resulted in some of the fish becoming rotten and having to be discarded for fish meal,” said Dausas. Dausas claimed the HR manager also does not respect employees and sides with the company. “Since she joined the company many employees have been dismissed, even for offences which are not dismissible. “It is not pleasant to work for the company anymore. Even some employees who were injured on duty are being ill-treated. Some are even forced to resign,” she alleged. The workers further accused the duo of running the company with an iron fist at the expense of lower-level employees. Moshoeshoe is also only recruiting and promoting her friends in position if there are vacancies at the company, they claimed. “We demand that the company appoint a person - a worker among us - to chair during disciplinary hearings to ensure that they are conducted in a transparent manner,” the workers said. ”We are demanding that position and vacancies be advertised first within the company and that all workers must be granted the right to apply for such position through affirmative action committees,” Dausas added. Finance manager Charl Dreyer received the petition on behalf of the company and said it would be forwarded to management for a full response. 2017-01-19Staff Report 2
