By Charles Tjatindi
WINDHOEK
A newly established union representing taxi drivers faces an uphill battle to get off the ground.
The union, which was founded on March 28, 2006 and registered with the Labour commissioner the same year, has been struggling to gain popularity with various stakeholders in the industry who refuse to negotiate or bargain with it.
The Namibian Transport and Taxi Union, NNTU, was formed with the aim to become the official bargaining agent of taxi drivers in the country. It has so far registered about 2 000 members.
Its main mandate, according to the union’s Secretary General Haighumbi Jeremia, is to voice and address the concerns of all taxi drivers, and to protect, promote, represent and make sure their members’ health, safety, and welfare are well looked after.
Jeremia adds that his union will primarily tackle issues surrounding unfair dismissal, basic conditions of employment and dispute resolution procedures.
“We will make sure our members’ grievances are heard, because that is one of our biggest aims,” said Jeremia.
The union has however to date failed to market itself as the official representative of taxi drivers, with some taxi drivers refusing to acknowledge the presence of the union.
Said Peter Moyo, a taxi driver from Windhoek: “It is the first time I am hearing about them [the union]. I do not see how they will help me. I will just struggle on my own.”
Another stumbling block for the newly established union is the apparent lack of cooperation that it is receiving from the already established Namibia Bus and Taxi Association, NABTA.
The NTTU claims that NABTA was failing to cooperate with them, and as such a number of issues pertaining to taxi drivers have not been addressed.
“There are many outstanding matters that need to be ironed out, such as contracts of employment, social security and payslips. Up to now, nothing has been discussed with NABTA yet,” said Jeremia.
These claims were however refuted by the chairperson of NABTA’s executive committee, Magnus Nangombe, who said his association has welcomed the idea.
“We gladly welcomed the initiative, and avail ourselves for any assistance they might need. We even offered them office space, although they would need to contribute a bit for that as we are also self-funded,” said Nangombe.
Nangombe maintains that the union will make it easier for them to liaise with taxi drivers, as most taxi owners have been having problems with their drivers.
“This is good, so we can work together on this. Taxi owners are having problems with drivers who just drop the car and disappear. If such a union is active, we will be able to trace these drivers,” he said.
Although the NTTU has an executive committee comprising of management as well as additional members, the banks are apparently refusing to authorise stop-order withdrawals from union members’ accounts, even though the union submits proof of authorisation from account owners for this exercise.
The union requires a membership fee of N$30 per month.
“They [banks] are refusing to cooperate. I do not know why. This is slowing our activities down,” noted Jeremia.
Werner Januarie was elected president of the NTTU, and the union is planning to hold its next congress in November this year.