No Easy Walk for Labour
By: Opinion - (Herbert Jauch)THE new year started with several significant events for Namibian workers.
First, there was the almost usual crisis in the fishing industry
when companies claimed that due to financial difficulties as a
result of the strong Namibian Dollar, high fuel prices and poor
fishing conditions, they had to retrench workers.
Such dismissals always have severe consequences not only for the
workers concerned and their families, but also for the Namibian
economy as a whole, which is already reeling under a massive
unemployment rate of around 40 per cent.
Fishing crisis: Fishing companies seem to be ill-prepared for
the cyclical nature of their industry.
They tend to quickly shift the burden of economic difficulties
onto the shoulders of their workers instead of fully exploring
other cost-saving measures that might help to avoid
retrenchments.
Realising the dire social consequences of retrenchments, the
Ministries of Fisheries and Labour facilitated talks between the
companies and the trade unions organising the industry's
workers.
The unions made several proposals how the problems in the
fishing industry could be tackled more systematically and how
solutions could be found without resorting to mass
retrenchments.
This approach was also supported by government and the parties
agreed to regular tripartite consultations that would help to
identify problems and to deal with them before they develop into a
major crisis.
It is hoped that such consultations will contribute to more open
negotiations and better labour relations in the fishing
industry.
After all, Namibia's fish stocks are a national resource that
should benefit the majority of Namibians and fishing companies
certainly have to be reminded of their social responsibilities.
Trade union unity: Another significant development in the first
few weeks of 2005 was the expansion of Namibia's second trade union
federation, the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA).
The Public Service Union (PSUN) joined TUCNA this month, thus
increasing the total number of workers organised by the TUCNA
unions to about 45 000.
Combined with about 70 000 workers organised by the unions under
the umbrella of the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), this
means that well over 100 000 Namibian workers are trade union
members.
The labour movement thus has a numerical strength that few other
organisations can match but unions will have to translate this
numerical strength into power to influence decisions at workplaces
and in the national policy arena.
It is here where labour's influence is currently weak as can be
seen, for example in the debates on privatisation, labour hire and
export processing zones (EPZs).
Over the years, the Namibian Government tended to support
business interests and labour will therefore have to review its
strategies how to shift the focus of debate towards the achievement
of social justice.
During a recent conference on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE),
for example, the acting General Secretary of the NUNW, Peter
Naholo, reminded the audience that trade unions want broad-based
empowerment programmes instead of the narrow elite-driven model
that only benefits a few individuals.
Supporting critics like South Africa's Peace Nobel Price winner
Desmond Tutu, the NUNW has called for BEE programmes that will
benefit workers and their communities.
The task of campaigning for policies in favour of workers and
the poor in general is not made easier by the deep divisions that
still run through the Namibian labour movement.
The two federations are divided along political lines and
chances of inter-union co-operation are slim as long as they see
each other as rivals that have to be fought at shopfloor and
national level.
As long as these practices continue, there is little hope for
trade union unity.
Vulnerable workers: Another challenge facing labour is how to
organise vulnerable workers and improve their living
conditions.
This group of workers includes farm workers, domestic workers,
security guards, petrol attendants as well as workers in the
informal sector and those employed by Ramatex.
These workers tend to be the lowest paid and enjoy the least
protection.
Although they are covered by the provisions of the Labour Act,
their rights are often violated - sometimes due to ignorance but
often due to their weak bargaining position.
In the face of huge unemployment, they simply have to accept
almost any job under any conditions.
In recent years, the farmworkers union Nafwu has made
significant progress in its attempts to organise farmworkers and to
negotiate minimum wages.
The first minimum wage was agreed to in 2003 with the farmers
unions (the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), representing
commercial farmers and the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU),
representing communal farmers).
Earlier this year, the launch of a pension fund for farmworkers
was announced.
These are certainly steps forward but it remains to be seen how
these measures are being implemented and how they will improve the
lives of Namibia's farmworkers, both in commercial and communal
areas.
Progress has been extremely slow for other vulnerable
workers.
There are no minimum wages for domestic workers who are hardly
unionised and isolated at their individual workplaces.
A minimum wage agreement for security guards was signed recently
between the security industry and the union (Natau), while the poor
wages at Ramatex have remained unchanged since 2003.
Thusfar, trade unions have hardly reached workers in the
informal sector and the NUNW is currently exploring ways to
organise this sector.
New Labour Act: After five years of discussions, Namibia's new
Labour Act was finally passed towards the end of 2004.
It will become operational during this year and will certainly
pose new challenges for unions and employers like.
The core changes in the new act deal with the resolution of
disputes.
The new Labour Act shifts emphasis away from resolving disputes
from Labour Courts towards the processes of mediation and
arbitration.
The recent case of workers being re-instated after having been
unfairly dismissed two years ago, is just one example, which shows
that court cases are slow and often expensive.
It is hoped that most conflicts will be resolved through
arbitration and mediation and that there will be less need for
court cases and industrial action.
Some unions, however, have expressed concern that the
administrative requirements for a legal strike might become too
cumbersome and time-consuming and thus prevent workers from using
strikes to support their demands.
Overall, the new Labour Act is not a radical departure from the
previous one.
It is still based on the notion that employers and workers
should solve their conflicting interests through orderly collective
bargaining.
Several key demands of labour, such as the inclusion of tenure
rights for farmworkers, the introduction of agency shop agreements
and the outlawing of labour hire companies have not been
accommodated in the new act.
Some employers, on the other hand are unhappy with the
provisions granting a minimum of five days compassionate leave and
24 working days annual leave.
The new Labour Act merely provides the framework for labour
relations while trade unions will still have to build their own
strength and develop effective strategies to recruit and retain
members, and to service them effectively.
Unions will also have to raise their voice in the political
arena and advocate for the interests of those who are still poor
and marginalised.
These are some of the immediate challenges and there is
certainly no easy walk for labour in 2005.
* This article has been written for The Namibian by Herbert
Jauch of the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI)
Such dismissals always have severe consequences not only for the
workers concerned and their families, but also for the Namibian
economy as a whole, which is already reeling under a massive
unemployment rate of around 40 per cent.Fishing crisis: Fishing
companies seem to be ill-prepared for the cyclical nature of their
industry.They tend to quickly shift the burden of economic
difficulties onto the shoulders of their workers instead of fully
exploring other cost-saving measures that might help to avoid
retrenchments.Realising the dire social consequences of
retrenchments, the Ministries of Fisheries and Labour facilitated
talks between the companies and the trade unions organising the
industry's workers.The unions made several proposals how the
problems in the fishing industry could be tackled more
systematically and how solutions could be found without resorting
to mass retrenchments.This approach was also supported by
government and the parties agreed to regular tripartite
consultations that would help to identify problems and to deal with
them before they develop into a major crisis.It is hoped that such
consultations will contribute to more open negotiations and better
labour relations in the fishing industry.After all, Namibia's fish
stocks are a national resource that should benefit the majority of
Namibians and fishing companies certainly have to be reminded of
their social responsibilities.Trade union unity: Another
significant development in the first few weeks of 2005 was the
expansion of Namibia's second trade union federation, the Trade
Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA).The Public Service Union (PSUN)
joined TUCNA this month, thus increasing the total number of
workers organised by the TUCNA unions to about 45 000.Combined with
about 70 000 workers organised by the unions under the umbrella of
the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), this means that well
over 100 000 Namibian workers are trade union members.The labour
movement thus has a numerical strength that few other organisations
can match but unions will have to translate this numerical strength
into power to influence decisions at workplaces and in the national
policy arena.It is here where labour's influence is currently weak
as can be seen, for example in the debates on privatisation, labour
hire and export processing zones (EPZs).Over the years, the
Namibian Government tended to support business interests and labour
will therefore have to review its strategies how to shift the focus
of debate towards the achievement of social justice.During a recent
conference on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), for example, the
acting General Secretary of the NUNW, Peter Naholo, reminded the
audience that trade unions want broad-based empowerment programmes
instead of the narrow elite-driven model that only benefits a few
individuals.Supporting critics like South Africa's Peace Nobel
Price winner Desmond Tutu, the NUNW has called for BEE programmes
that will benefit workers and their communities.The task of
campaigning for policies in favour of workers and the poor in
general is not made easier by the deep divisions that still run
through the Namibian labour movement.The two federations are
divided along political lines and chances of inter-union
co-operation are slim as long as they see each other as rivals that
have to be fought at shopfloor and national level.As long as these
practices continue, there is little hope for trade union
unity.Vulnerable workers: Another challenge facing labour is how to
organise vulnerable workers and improve their living
conditions.This group of workers includes farm workers, domestic
workers, security guards, petrol attendants as well as workers in
the informal sector and those employed by Ramatex.These workers
tend to be the lowest paid and enjoy the least protection.Although
they are covered by the provisions of the Labour Act, their rights
are often violated - sometimes due to ignorance but often due to
their weak bargaining position.In the face of huge unemployment,
they simply have to accept almost any job under any conditions.In
recent years, the farmworkers union Nafwu has made significant
progress in its attempts to organise farmworkers and to negotiate
minimum wages.The first minimum wage was agreed to in 2003 with the
farmers unions (the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), representing
commercial farmers and the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU),
representing communal farmers).Earlier this year, the launch of a
pension fund for farmworkers was announced.These are certainly
steps forward but it remains to be seen how these measures are
being implemented and how they will improve the lives of Namibia's
farmworkers, both in commercial and communal areas.Progress has
been extremely slow for other vulnerable workers.There are no
minimum wages for domestic workers who are hardly unionised and
isolated at their individual workplaces.A minimum wage agreement
for security guards was signed recently between the security
industry and the union (Natau), while the poor wages at Ramatex
have remained unchanged since 2003.Thusfar, trade unions have
hardly reached workers in the informal sector and the NUNW is
currently exploring ways to organise this sector.New Labour Act:
After five years of discussions, Namibia's new Labour Act was
finally passed towards the end of 2004.It will become operational
during this year and will certainly pose new challenges for unions
and employers like.The core changes in the new act deal with the
resolution of disputes.The new Labour Act shifts emphasis away from
resolving disputes from Labour Courts towards the processes of
mediation and arbitration.The recent case of workers being
re-instated after having been unfairly dismissed two years ago, is
just one example, which shows that court cases are slow and often
expensive.It is hoped that most conflicts will be resolved through
arbitration and mediation and that there will be less need for
court cases and industrial action.Some unions, however, have
expressed concern that the administrative requirements for a legal
strike might become too cumbersome and time-consuming and thus
prevent workers from using strikes to support their
demands.Overall, the new Labour Act is not a radical departure from
the previous one.It is still based on the notion that employers and
workers should solve their conflicting interests through orderly
collective bargaining.Several key demands of labour, such as the
inclusion of tenure rights for farmworkers, the introduction of
agency shop agreements and the outlawing of labour hire companies
have not been accommodated in the new act.Some employers, on the
other hand are unhappy with the provisions granting a minimum of
five days compassionate leave and 24 working days annual leave.The
new Labour Act merely provides the framework for labour relations
while trade unions will still have to build their own strength and
develop effective strategies to recruit and retain members, and to
service them effectively.Unions will also have to raise their voice
in the political arena and advocate for the interests of those who
are still poor and marginalised.These are some of the immediate
challenges and there is certainly no easy walk for labour in 2005.*
This article has been written for The Namibian by Herbert Jauch of
the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI)