Aussenkehr grape farm workers left in limbo

SOME seasonal workers of First Grapes Namib at Aussenkehr in the //Kharas region say they are unsure whether they should return to work after a month of not working.

Valentina Joshua (48), who has been working at the First Grapes farm for more than nine years, says: “We do not know if we are still employed or unemployed.”

She says a list was recently released with about 40 workers’ names on it, who were taken up in a new group of workers, yet there is still some confusion.

An employee who asked to remain anonymous says the workers have reached out to the company’s management, but have received no response.

“All they said was that they don’t want to work with people they don’t know. We don’t understand how they don’t know us if I have been working here since 2012,” the employee said.

Wiwlie Vermeulen, First Grapes’ general manager, says the company recruited fewer workers for October because of the challenge of labour costs.

“If the farm is big, you will need a lot of employees, and if the farm is small, you will need few employees,” he says.

Vermeulen says labour cost issues have affected the company.

Laimi Kahidi (39), who has been working at First Grapes for the past five years, says the workers have not been notified whether they should return to work.

“They were supposed to tell us that they do not want us. Now we have travelled all the way to Karasburg for nothing,” she says.

Kahidi says they do not have a union to represent them.

“We have waited for long now; we have families to feed,” she says.

Labour Forum representative Felix Simasiku says the company has been liquidated, which led to the current changes.

“These changes have reduced the number of employees – especially the seasonal workers,” he says.

Simasiku says the seasonal workers are also part of the Labour Forum.

Assistant manager of First Grapes Sambi Angels has confirmed that the company had been liquidated, which has affected its operations.

“Some of the changes were that some of the foremen were demoted, and that their groups have to be shared among the existing teams,” he says.

Angels says some of the shared members remained, because of the lack of available jobs.

“We usually give them letters to let them know whether they should come to work or not, but this year, we did not because of the new structures that were implemented,” he says.

Those who have not been recruited should find other employment, Angels says.

“Other companies are still recruiting, we are not the only ones,” he says.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.