The Public Service Union of Namibia (PSUN) has jumped into the fray with the Roads Contractor Company regarding what they call illegal deductions from employees.
The union is adamant that the company has not established that the affected employees committed fraud and therefore there is no justification for salary deductions.
“The fact that the board alleges that the employees committed fraud has not been established as no legal process was engaged in to arrive at such a determination. The conclusions they made remain theirs and theirs alone as it was reached in a boardroom where no employee was afforded the opportunity to defend him/herself,” reads a statement from PSUN secretary general, Mathew Haakuria.
He added that RCC’s provisions of company policies and employment contracts authorising salary deductions are not applicable as no guilt has been established nor do any of the employees owe RCC money. The union leader questioned the RCC’s decision to justify their actions on mere allegations, saying the deductions are “kangaroo justice to us”.
“There is only one law that governs deductions from salaries in Namibia and that is Section 12 of the Labour Act, Act 11 of 2007. All employment contracts, company policies and common law principles only take precedence over the Labour Act if their provisions are more favourable than those contained in the Labour Act, therefore alignment with Section 12 when it comes to deductions from salaries is mandatory. The RCC is not operating in the extra-legal space,” stated Haakuria.
The dispute between the RCC and employees arose in March this year regarding the interpretation of provisions of the company’s vehicle benefit scheme and the related circulars on the fuel usage claims triggered by a board resolution.
“Therefore, the PSUN demands that the status quo prior to the dispute should remain and calls on the RCC board to halt further deductions from employees’ salaries until a determination is reached, and that it refunds the deductions already made. This is theft of employees’ income and constitutes fraudulent behaviour on the part of the company. The employer is “helping itself” to the salaries of its workers,” Haakuria stated.
Meanwhile, RCC board chairperson Hileni Kaifanua said the board acted within its powers regarding approved policies and relevant legislative instruments guiding employment relationships.
The workers last week gave the RCC board seven days to address their demands, failure of which would result in drastic action. Kaifanua at the time said the board would respond to the employees› concerns within “the stipulated timeline”.