Jobless 'Time Bomb' Must Be Defused
A SURVEY by the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI), revealed this week an estimated overall jobless rate in the country of 34 per cent, with the majority of these, some 60 per cent, being young people under the age of 25.
The high unemployment rate in this country is no secret.
In fact the LaRRI estimate is quite possibly a conservative one,
since the two-year study was fairly wide-ranging, and not specific
to unemployment, sampling some 586 workers on a range of issues,
including employment conditions, gender issues, union members and
experiences with labour inspectors, among others.
LaRRI concluded that the unemployment rate was up by some eight
per cent since the last Labour Force Survey conducted by the
Ministry of Labour in 1997.
The labour market study by LaRRI in 2002-2003 was undertaken in
order to complement the findings of the Ministry's survey by
examining worker experiences and views.
Among the LaRRI findings were the following:
* that the Namibian labour market is characterised by a young age
structure as over half the population was younger than 25 years of
age;
* that overall high levels of unemployment, with a national average
of 34 per cent, are especially felt among women (40 per cent) and
the youth (over 60 per cent);
* that agriculture, the public service and service industries were
Namibia's dominant sectors in terms of employment while mining and
manufacturing accounted for relatively few jobs;
* Namibia's labour market itself shows stable levels, with a high
level of permanency in employment;
* bonus pay, medical aid, social security and housing benefits were
the most common benefits enjoyed by Namibian workers in addition to
basic salaries;
* Spiralling unemployment, particularly in a country like Namibia
which provides no financial cushion for those who are jobless, is
undoubtedly one of the greatest concerns in Namibia today.
And although the LaRRI study pointed out that there were huge
levels of inequality regarding wages and benefits in the labour
market itself, and that workers generally believed job performance
did not influence promotions and salary increases, and that there
are other problems, such as lack of training, among the employed
workforce, nevertheless one can deduce from this assessment that it
is the unemployment problem which should be addressed as a matter
of urgent priority.
The survey was wide-ranging in its scope, and so the
unemployment problem has been somewhat subverted because of the
generality of the labour market study itself, focussing as it did
on those already employed, rather than those who are not.
And even though workers rights remain a very important issue
which is deserving of attention and remedial action where
necessary, we cannot escape the fact that unless unemployment as a
problem in itself is tackled, the situation in Namibia regarding
workers' rights is not going to be resolved.
We have, on previous occasions, identified unemployment as a
crucial issue, for Namibia's stability and ultimately, even, for
the wellbeing of our democracy, for we cannot afford complacency
when the figures are that high.
Perhaps we need to be once again updated on unemployment itself,
and/or the achievements of government in this regard, if any.
If, as LaRRI maintains, there has been an increase since the
last survey in 1997, then it would seem to indicate that little has
effectively been done to stem the tide of jobless in this country,
women and the youth in particular.
In fact the LaRRI estimate is quite possibly a conservative one,
since the two-year study was fairly wide-ranging, and not specific
to unemployment, sampling some 586 workers on a range of issues,
including employment conditions, gender issues, union members and
experiences with labour inspectors, among others.LaRRI concluded
that the unemployment rate was up by some eight per cent since the
last Labour Force Survey conducted by the Ministry of Labour in
1997.The labour market study by LaRRI in 2002-2003 was undertaken
in order to complement the findings of the Ministry's survey by
examining worker experiences and views.Among the LaRRI findings
were the following:
* that the Namibian labour market is characterised by a young age
structure as over half the population was younger than 25 years of
age;
* that overall high levels of unemployment, with a national average
of 34 per cent, are especially felt among women (40 per cent) and
the youth (over 60 per cent);
* that agriculture, the public service and service industries were
Namibia's dominant sectors in terms of employment while mining and
manufacturing accounted for relatively few jobs;
* Namibia's labour market itself shows stable levels, with a high
level of permanency in employment;
* bonus pay, medical aid, social security and housing benefits were
the most common benefits enjoyed by Namibian workers in addition to
basic salaries;
* Spiralling unemployment, particularly in a country like Namibia
which provides no financial cushion for those who are jobless, is
undoubtedly one of the greatest concerns in Namibia today.And
although the LaRRI study pointed out that there were huge levels of
inequality regarding wages and benefits in the labour market
itself, and that workers generally believed job performance did not
influence promotions and salary increases, and that there are other
problems, such as lack of training, among the employed workforce,
nevertheless one can deduce from this assessment that it is the
unemployment problem which should be addressed as a matter of
urgent priority.The survey was wide-ranging in its scope, and so
the unemployment problem has been somewhat subverted because of the
generality of the labour market study itself, focussing as it did
on those already employed, rather than those who are not.And even
though workers rights remain a very important issue which is
deserving of attention and remedial action where necessary, we
cannot escape the fact that unless unemployment as a problem in
itself is tackled, the situation in Namibia regarding workers'
rights is not going to be resolved.We have, on previous occasions,
identified unemployment as a crucial issue, for Namibia's stability
and ultimately, even, for the wellbeing of our democracy, for we
cannot afford complacency when the figures are that high.Perhaps we
need to be once again updated on unemployment itself, and/or the
achievements of government in this regard, if any.If, as LaRRI
maintains, there has been an increase since the last survey in
1997, then it would seem to indicate that little has effectively
been done to stem the tide of jobless in this country, women and
the youth in particular.