WALVIS BAY – The 210 employees of the Saga and Geysir trawlers, who were retrenched earlier this month, will receive a month and a half’s salary, severance pay of 1.5 weeks as well as a bonus of N$10 000. Saga Seafood made the announcement that the retrenched employees will also be paid two days of accrued leave per month. 

Branch organiser for the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) Joseph Makanga, said Saga Seafood failed to sign any catch agreements with other local firms, resulting in its closure and retrenchment of its employees. 

Makanga said that the retrenchment packages would be paid before the end of this month. “We really negotiated in good faith on behalf of our members. We also have an agreement in place that if Saga gets or manages to get catching agreements, the retrenched employees will be the first to be considered for employment,” Makanga said. 

The 33 Namibian employees currently on board the MV Geysir fishing in Mauritania will also receive the same retrenchment packages once they return to the country.  

Saga Seafood last month announced it would cease operations in the country by the end of this month. The Saga vessel also left unceremoniously, leaving workers uncertain about their future. 
The Namibian authorities impounded a third vessel, Heinaste, in connection with investigations into the unfolding Fishrot scandal, in which Icelandic fishing and fish processing company Samherji is implicated.