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Friday, September 23, 2005 - Web posted at 7:42:04 GMT Labour harmony eludes Namibia * LINDSAY DENTLINGERTHE labour climate in Namibia over the past year proved to be dismal, with the number of dismissals, illegal strikes and disputes soaring way above that of the previous year. |
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Aggravating the situation, only a meagre 15 per cent of the 9 721 jobseekers registered with the Ministry of Labour found employment during 2004 - marginally less than the previous year. Although more men were registered as seeking employment, women were slightly more successful in being placed. This the Labour Ministry attributes to the intake by the Ramatex Textile Factory, which prefers employing women. These trends emerged on Wednesday, when the Ministry of Labour called a meeting of heads of State-Owned Enterprises to discuss labour issues facing them and the country as a whole. Labour Minister Alpheus !Naruseb said Government had observed "worrying signs" in the area of labour relations, employment creation and job retention. While some were lucky to find employment, at least 408 people were dismissed from their jobs during 2004, nearly double the number in 2003. Retrenchments also cost 204 people their jobs last year - one more than the previous year. Naruseb classified recent retrenchments in all sectors of the economy as "unnecessary" and the result of poor planning. Unhappiness in the workplace also rose to considerable dimensions, with more than 10 000 complaints lodged with the Labour Commissioner last year, an increase of more than 20 per cent from the previous year. Only about half of them were solved during the same year. Industrial action, nearly all of which the Labour Ministry says was illegal, cost the economy more than 220 602 man hours or roughly about 57 days, when 4 753 employees engaged in some form of protest action. During 2003, only about 51 workers were involved in industrial action, costing the industry 22 working days. Labour disputes rose tenfold in 2004 from 26 in 2003, to 281 in 2004, naturally also increasing the number of mediation meetings and those referred to conciliation boards. !Naruseb maintained that it was largely the private sector that was characterised by poor labour relations, but this had spilled over to State-Owned Enterprises. "Without necessarily prescribing to you what to do, I am of the opinion that you have to critically and seriously reflect on your labour relations with your trade unions and or workers' committees, determine whether the way you operate is sustainable both in terms of human and financial resources and whether your management practices would foster economic growth and employment creation," Naruseb told parastatal heads and representatives. Naruseb attributed the failure to reach employment targets to the structure of the economy, international economic conditions and the impact of HIV-AIDS. He said unemployment was still a great cause of concern for his Ministry. "The international concept of decent work or meaningful employment appears to be elusive to us. And our own employees start doubting the real purpose of some of the State-Owned Enterprises we have in Namibia when it comes to their employment practices and service delivery," said Naruseb. "Namibian employers should assist their employees to work out of poverty and create hope for themselves and their dependents". Naruseb said Government expected parastatals to act as "mirrors of Government's policies". He said SOEs, unlike private companies, had a duty to fulfil State functions in the interest of the public. |
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