Lahja Nashuuta
Workers at Kunene Building Supplies have been threatened with dismissal, and two were suspended yesterday.
This came after they downed tools on Monday morning, to express their dissatisfaction after appeals for increased pay and better working conditions fell on deaf ears.
The workers are demanding a salary increment, ablution facilities at the quarry, service allowances, pensions, and a conducive and safe working environment.
The workers, wearing blue overalls and picketing outside the KBS mining site on the B1 Road south of Windhoek, demand a 20% salary increase while the employer is offering 6.5%, an offer they refuse to take.
The workers further reveal that apart from the salary, there is no medical aid, no overtime and no pension, and they haven’t had an increase in over five years.
According to KBS workers' representative Junior Ndjavera, workers’ salaries range between N$3 000 and
N$5 000, and are not sufficient.
KBS has been operating since 2015, and employs 60 permanent workers.
According to the workers, the mine is making good profits, as it is currently one of the major producers and suppliers of building materials countrywide, but is unwilling to pay the workers fairly.
Alfeus Teofilus, who has been working for the company since its establishment, said the quarry has been operating with one toilet, which is meant for the managers only, and is always closed.
Almost everyone is forced to use the nearby bushes, including those working night shifts.
Also, most of the general workers who are mining are not entitled to any medical benefits. Only Social Security Commission (SSC) contributions are deducted from them.
He gave the example of a colleague who lost two fingers while drilling, and who was never compensated, apart from
N$1 400 he received from the SSC.
“We have tabled lots of proposals and demands before, but the boss does not want to listen to our grievances. Every time we try to engage them, we are told to wait. Last year, we were told we would get an increment in March this year; come March, we all got 6%. The last increment we received was in 2018,” Teofilus said.
“We have been requesting that the company at least build toilets and ablution facilities as it is dangerous to use bushes, but our management has been ignoring us. Here, everyone except the managers uses the open space over there,” said Teofilus while pointing to the nearby bushes.
Asked for comment, Bernd Röder, the operations manager, refused to comment and requested the journalists to vacate the site as they entered without his consent, while Kai Smith, the company owner, could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, New Era is reliably informed that the owner has informed the employees that the management will convene on 20 April 2023 to look at the workers’ grievances.
He, however, ordered all those who participated in the peaceful demonstration to sign final warnings yesterday if they wished to continue working there, while some of the representatives were threatened with dismissal. -lnashuuta2gmail.com