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05:22Last update on: 12 Aug 2013
The Namibian
Mon 12 Aug 2013
SMS Of The Day * MINISTRY of Gender and Child Welfare, TEARS are rolling down as I write this SMS. The killing of women in Namibia is now like reciting a poem. Are we really getting the protection we deserve while women not being treated as part of this c Food For Thought * SO the Zimbabwe elections were free and peaceful and not free and fair? Bouquets And Brickbats * NURSES at Katutura Hospital must stop wearing those big plastic sandals at work because they are not the official working shoes. We want to see you looking smart and beautiful with your full uniform. SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf
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NEWS - NAMIBIA
| 2013-08-09
Muheua calls for respect towards workers
Nomhle Kangootui
SOLVED ... Deputy Minister Alphäus Muheua meets farm worker David Brits and his former employer Frikkie Engels.
Photograph by Henry Van Rooi
DEPUTY Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Alphäus Muheua, helped a Dordabis man to recover his personal belongings including livestock that had been confiscated by his former employer.
Muheua visited farm Lauwater Suid owned by Frikkie Engels in Dordabis on Wednesday this week to resolve the seven-month stand-off that saw Engels holding onto David Brits’ property that included 13 goats, three donkeys and a horse.
Muheua, who was accompanied by the Dordabis councillor, some police officers and a labour inspector, warned employers to treat their employees with respect and dignity.
“We are all human beings. I am not saying who is wrong in this case but what I have observed with concern is the relationship between employers and their workers. That is why I am here to hear from the side of the employer in this case why Frikkie Engels is refusing to release Brits’ property. But according to the law, this is not allowed.
“One thing I want to emphasise on is that section 28 (5) of the labour law provides, in lucid terms, that an employee who has referred a matter to the commissioner alleging unfair dismissal has every right to stay on the employer’s premises until such time that the matter has been resolved,”Muheua said.
Brits said he was unfairly dismissed about seven months ago after working for 10 years at Engels’ farm. He also said that he was treated like a piece of a property at the farm.
“It all started when I suggested how we should divide the cattle in the kraal because I was the cattle manager. He accused me of being clever and arrogant. He wanted to grab and beat me but I then ran away.He chased me back to the house telling me I have to report to him every morning and afternoon without pay or I should sign a letter stating that I had misbehaved and that’s why I have been asked to leave the farm. I reported this matter to the Dordabis councillor who assisted me to open a labour case against Engels,” he said.
Brits further said, as a family man and a breadwinner, he had to look for another job since Engels was not paying him anymore. “When I returned for my property, he threatened me and refused to give everything back. He told me if I wanted my belongings and livestock, I should first withdraw the labour case. The second time I went back with the assistance of the labour inspector from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Dionysius Louw, still Engels refused and even went as far as threatening me and Louw,” Brits said.
Engels said he never refused to let Brits take his property from the farm. “All I am prepared to say now is, it is not true that I refused to give Brits his personal belongings and livestock. When we had an appointment for them to pick up the things, they came late and I had other things to do. But he is more than welcome to have his things back.”
He said adding that he could not say much since the matter was still at the labour court.
Brits, who was happy to get his property back, was shocked that only six of his goats were left with the other farm workers saying they had no idea where the rest were.
Brits could not transport his animals then because he needed the veterinary transportation permit.
Muheua, who was accompanied by the Dordabis councillor, some police officers and a labour inspector, warned employers to treat their employees with respect and dignity.
“We are all human beings. I am not saying who is wrong in this case but what I have observed with concern is the relationship between employers and their workers. That is why I am here to hear from the side of the employer in this case why Frikkie Engels is refusing to release Brits’ property. But according to the law, this is not allowed.
“One thing I want to emphasise on is that section 28 (5) of the labour law provides, in lucid terms, that an employee who has referred a matter to the commissioner alleging unfair dismissal has every right to stay on the employer’s premises until such time that the matter has been resolved,”Muheua said.
Brits said he was unfairly dismissed about seven months ago after working for 10 years at Engels’ farm. He also said that he was treated like a piece of a property at the farm.
“It all started when I suggested how we should divide the cattle in the kraal because I was the cattle manager. He accused me of being clever and arrogant. He wanted to grab and beat me but I then ran away.He chased me back to the house telling me I have to report to him every morning and afternoon without pay or I should sign a letter stating that I had misbehaved and that’s why I have been asked to leave the farm. I reported this matter to the Dordabis councillor who assisted me to open a labour case against Engels,” he said.
Brits further said, as a family man and a breadwinner, he had to look for another job since Engels was not paying him anymore. “When I returned for my property, he threatened me and refused to give everything back. He told me if I wanted my belongings and livestock, I should first withdraw the labour case. The second time I went back with the assistance of the labour inspector from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Dionysius Louw, still Engels refused and even went as far as threatening me and Louw,” Brits said.
Engels said he never refused to let Brits take his property from the farm. “All I am prepared to say now is, it is not true that I refused to give Brits his personal belongings and livestock. When we had an appointment for them to pick up the things, they came late and I had other things to do. But he is more than welcome to have his things back.”
He said adding that he could not say much since the matter was still at the labour court.
Brits, who was happy to get his property back, was shocked that only six of his goats were left with the other farm workers saying they had no idea where the rest were.
Brits could not transport his animals then because he needed the veterinary transportation permit.
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