WALVIS BAY - The Mine Workers Union of Namibia coordinator for the Erongo region has expressed dismay with the way labour commissioners work after three case files got lost at the labour ministry’s offices in Swakopmund.
Unionist George Ampweya said he is downright dissatisfied with the services of the ministry as it is failing Namibian workers.
“Imagine they called me today after I followed up on some pending cases just for them to inform me that all three of my cases are nowhere to be found,” Ampweya said.
He was asked to resubmit the cases and is now questioning the integrity and work ethic of labour officials.
“These cases were referred to November last year. What does one tell the poor affected members who are waiting at home for a solution?” Ampweya asked, adding that inadequate and continued poor service delivery by the labour commissioner’s office hampers the effective representation of workers. According to him, the adjudication over cases referred to arbitration is prolonged while the issuing of arbitration awards is delayed to periods exceeding six months.
“This is despite the provisions made by the Labour Act, that an arbitration award should be issued to the parties within 30 days of the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings,” he explained. An agitated Ampweya further said the conduct of labour officers not only grossly violates these cardinal provisions of law but also continues to threaten the collective bargaining processes at the workplace.
He added that the current labour unrest in the country is provoked by the disservice by labour officers. “As a trade union, we continue to record employee significant numbers of resignations from our members as a result of inexplicable delays and the stagnating nature in which cases are being dealt with. Our members are consistently subjected to unprofessional services and at times intimidation and harassment by officials in Swakopmund,” he said. He then called upon the labour minister and the office of the ombudsman to intervene speedily and decisively in this regard, as further noncompliance by the office of the labour
commissioner will force the union to approach the courts to force compliance with the regulations that govern these processes.
Approached for comment, spokesperson of the ministry, Maria Hedembi said the case management system at the office of the labour commissioner was faulty for some time and as a result, the office could not establish whether the case in question was allocated to an arbitrator or not. “This tracing challenge continued even after the system was restored, hence the office contacted the union to find out which regional office it submitted the referral to in order to follow up with that office,” read the response. “This issue has been rectified now and the union will be notified about the date of their case soon.” Employees of Pick n Pay last month also called out the ministry for delaying tactics in dealing with labour cases.
They accused the ministry of failing to hold the retailer accountable for their prolonged labour dispute. According to the employees, Pick n Pay failed to implement a wage agreement they signed on 3 November 2019 with the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau), resulting in a dispute lodged with the office of the labour commissioner.
The workers signed a wage agreement for three years, effective from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022. However, the company only adhered to the agreement during the 2019/2020 financial year. The dispute, according to the workers has been stalled for almost three years since being lodged on 2 December 2020.
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 office 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. Hedembi on Friday indicated that the arbitrator who was dealing with the Pick n Pay case is about to resign from the ministry and the case was, therefore, reallocated to a new arbitrator. “The parties met the arbitrator last week so they are on par as the matter was previously being handled by a different arbitrator. The arbitration proceedings will then resume on 8 March 2023,” she explained.
- edeklerk@nepc.com.na