Walvis Bay
The country’s leading ship repair company Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH) has kicked off talks with the ministry of labour and union representatives about its plans to retrench some of its 460 employees, as a result of a 50 percent loss in its revenue and unfavourable fuel prices.
EBH employees – the majority of whom are Namibian – yesterday handed a petition to management, stating that they were left in the dark about the retrenchment process.
According to Kendal Hunt, who deals with public relations on behalf of EBH, the number of retrenchments is not yet known, as EBH Namibia will now be engaging the process with the labour ministry and union.
“So the final number is not known at this stage. Once the process has been completed, the final number will at that point be agreed and known,” she responded via email.
The company said it posted a 50 percent decline in docking activity, which resulted in proactive and cost-cutting steps being taken.
According to its CEO, Hannes Uys, the company first felt the “lag effect” of the sustained drop in oil prices during November 2015, which was a few months later than initially anticipated.
“We first and foremost addressed the non-human resources aspects of the business as strategically and effectively as possible in 2015,” he said.
“However, we are now in a position of the sustained effect of the low oil price on production along the west coast of Africa.”
“Particularly our core market, Angola, led to a 50 percent net loss in revenue, which in turn forced us to embark on a company-wide restructuring and stabilisation programme.”
According to Uys, despite efforts made to ensure that the situation affects the least number of employees as possible, the situation has unfortunately necessitated the retrenchment of some full-time employees of EBH Namibia.
“It has been very difficult to generate positive cash flow in an industry that is going through one of its worst downturns in history. These [times] are tough, but necessary measures are being put in place in order to maintain and strengthen EBH Namibia’s competitiveness during a very challenging time in our industry,” Uys said.
He however assured stakeholders that the management of EBH Namibia will follow due process and comply with all legislative requirements, and are currently engaging government and worker representative bodies, which all play a key role in the process.
“We are indeed committed to a process which will encourage ongoing communication and a deeper understanding of the situation for all those involved.”
He added that close engagement with the company’s employees, as well as key suppliers and vendors are also underway, with a view to ensuring a thorough and mutual understanding of the implications of the stabilisation programme.
According to Uys, the currently depressed off-shore oil-related market situation is likely to continue (or possibly worsen) during the next 12 calendar months.