A group of 252 former employees of Icelandic fishing giant Samherji have renewed their demand for compensation seven years after they lost their jobs when the company ceased operations in Namibia.
This follows the uncovering of the Fishrot fraud and corruption scandal in 2019.
Through their lawyers, Metlaw Attorneys and Notaries, the group wrote to Samherji chief executive Baldvin Thorsteinsson on Monday, asking to remedy the termination of their employment in December 2019 and January 2020.
In the letter, signed by lawyer Richard Metcalfe, the former fishermen demand payouts.
“Our clients seek compensation for their mercenary dismissal from employment at Samherji without valid grounds.” the letter reads.
The letter says each employee received N$10 000 when operations stopped. According to the lawyers, no consideration was given to years of service.
“Each of our clients were given a severance payment of N$10 000, which is a paltry 530 euro. No cognisance was taken of years of service, notice pay requirements and proper severance pay requisites,” Metcalfe states.
The fishermen had been employed on Samherji-linked vessels, including the Saga Seafood, Geysir and Heinaste, before the vessels left Namibia.
Operations ceased after corruption allegations linked to the Fishrot matter became public in 2019.
The former employees say while assets were attached and vessels sold, no compensation has materialised for them.
They say they have been left to rely on temporary placements under the Government Employment Redress Programme, which depends on quota allocations to fishing companies.
“Our clients are treated like collateral damage by most of the companies to whom quota allocation is made to the extent of exploiting our clients’ miserable conditions by refusing to pay salaries,” Metcalfe writes.
Jason Nelenge, a former crew member on the Geysir, says losing his job has affected every part of his life.
He says he had worked for Samherji for several years and relied on the income to support his family. After the sudden retrenchment, he struggled to pay his bills and provide for his family.
“Life has been very difficult for the past seven years. What made it worse is that this happened unexpectedly, with no warning.
“These people just ran away and left us without jobs. We had to sell our properties and belongings,” Nelenge says.
He says unemployment has also affected his family’s future.
“My family has lost everything. We just want them to come together with the relevant offices and reach an agreement that benefits everyone,” he says.
In their letter, the workers are distancing themselves from foreign litigation reportedly instituted against Samherji, saying they have “no knowledge thereof and have never authorised such entity to litigate on their behalf”.
They have set 16 March as the deadline for a response.
Questions sent to Baldvin Thorsteinsson were not answered by the time of going to print yesterday.
Efforts to obtain comment from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform were also unsuccessful.
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