Casual workers at Coke plant get another chance

AROUND 20 people, who just a week ago faced being fired over a labour incident at Namibia Beverages’ Coca-Cola bottling plant at Oshakati, have been given another chance following negotiations between their employer and the Namibian Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Nafau).

Three weeks ago, labour-hire company Africa Personnel Services (APS) charged a number of its employees working at the bottling plant with unlawful industrial action after what it claimed to be the fourth illegal strike in less than a year. According to a prior agreement between the company and Nafau, this last strike could have resulted in the termination of the workers’ contracts with APS.On Sunday, however, the union reached a new agreement with APS, giving the affected workers another chance, albeit with written warnings.Although the parties have agreed to keep the details of their agreements from the public sphere, APS has divulged that new employee representatives will be elected within the next month, and they will be expected to handle employee matters with the company in the future.Nafau will be responsible for training these representatives.APS labour consultant Johannes Kapembe declined to elaborate on this matter, and Nafau Secretary General Kiros Sackarias could not be reached for comment.However, it is known that the union was responsible for training the previous employee representatives, and this decision indicates disappointment in their abilities.APS also declined to elaborate on a stipulation that “further conditions pertaining to grievances and the handling thereof in future are also part of the agreement”.It would appear, however, that this means the inclusion of a stipulation in the previous agreement, which said that another unlawful work stoppage could lead to the dismissal of the workers involved.The incident that set these events in motion happened on Wednesday, August 9.APS management called on workers to clear their lockers and refrain from using showers on the Namibia Beverages premises.While the company claims that workers used this as a reason to stage an illegal strike, Nafau says they had simply asked where they could put their belongings, with no answers coming from management.According to a prior agreement between the company and Nafau, this last strike could have resulted in the termination of the workers’ contracts with APS.On Sunday, however, the union reached a new agreement with APS, giving the affected workers another chance, albeit with written warnings.Although the parties have agreed to keep the details of their agreements from the public sphere, APS has divulged that new employee representatives will be elected within the next month, and they will be expected to handle employee matters with the company in the future.Nafau will be responsible for training these representatives.APS labour consultant Johannes Kapembe declined to elaborate on this matter, and Nafau Secretary General Kiros Sackarias could not be reached for comment.However, it is known that the union was responsible for training the previous employee representatives, and this decision indicates disappointment in their abilities.APS also declined to elaborate on a stipulation that “further conditions pertaining to grievances and the handling thereof in future are also part of the agreement”.It would appear, however, that this means the inclusion of a stipulation in the previous agreement, which said that another unlawful work stoppage could lead to the dismissal of the workers involved.The incident that set these events in motion happened on Wednesday, August 9.APS management called on workers to clear their lockers and refrain from using showers on the Namibia Beverages premises.While the company claims that workers used this as a reason to stage an illegal strike, Nafau says they had simply asked where they could put their belongings, with no answers coming from management.