By Mbatjiua Ngavirue The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) has thrown its weight behind its affiliate union ,the Namibia Food and Allied Union (Nafau), currently embroiled in a labour dispute with Windhoek Schlachterei. At a press conference yesterday, NUNW Secretary-General Evalistus Karonda expressed concern about a looming wave of labour unrest in the country which, he said, was evident even to the uninitiated. He blamed the rising tide of labour unrest on “stiff-necked capitalists and their insatiable thirst for the blood of the working men and women.” The ongoing – and other imminent – industrial activities, he said, could have far-reaching consequences as far as disrupting the country’s economy is concerned if left unabated. Karonda was particularly concerned about the situation at the parent company of Windhoek Schlachterei, the Ohlthaver & List Group. “The O&L Group of Companies’ uncontrolled campaign of profit maximization premised on lean production strategies has helped to increase the levels of unemployment as it has effectively condemned many of its former employees to economic slavery,” he charged. The NUNW, he added, strongly questioned the true rationale behind the proposed retrenchments at Windhoek Schlachterei, as the company had already retrenched some employees two months ago. Given the small size of the company, it should therefore have been quite easy for it to forecast its labour needs with some accuracy. “If this management failed to predict this retrenchment, then there is most certainly something wrong with its competencies, and not so much with the performance of the workers,” he said. Addressing Executive Chairman of O&L Sven Thieme directly, he said it was important for Thieme and his colleagues to understand that their “ambush style of retrenchments” was illegal and not in the best interest, of the country. The NUNW, he said, urged the management of Windhoek Schlachterei to meaningfully engage the concerned union. This included producing a detailed list of the categories of employees that will be affected by the retrenchments and proposing alternative options to retrenchment. The union also asked the company to provide an organizational structure of the restructured company and to open their books to scrutiny. Karonda added that he wanted to make it categorically clear, that none of the retrenched employees would re-apply for any position at the company if the position had the same duties and function as what they had held before.