Casual workers protest at Coke

N$4,75 for a month’s pay? This is what one African Personnel Services (APS) worker claims he received last month.

More than 60 APS workers – employed at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Windhoek as truck drivers, fork-lift operators, bottle sorters and a host of other out-sourced positions – staged a demonstration at the plant yesterday. Friday was payday, the workers say, but they apparently did not receive anything from their employer, APS.When they insisted on receiving their pay before doing any work, they claim Coca-Cola management threatened to cancel their contracts and get new workers from the labour-hire company.”Imagine being paid N$4,75, would you accept that?” asked Jas Kambatu, showing The Namibian a cheque that was supposedly issued to one of his fellow employees.”I’ve been coming to work despite not having been paid anything for the past two months,” added another worker, Robert Festus.The workers claim that they have no basic wage agreement, adding that they work only on a commission basis.”We work on commission, but we’re not even explained how this commission works.We don’t understand, we work but what is our rate?” said Danie Platt, who apparently has been working for APS since last month.Despite an attempt by APS labour consultant Johannes Kapembe to speak to the workers, they remained outside the bottling plant most of the morning, and by yesterday afternoon, the situation had still not been settled.Speaking to The Namibian yesterday afternoon, Kapembe said he had arrived in Windhoek from the North yesterday for another engagement when he heard of the ruckus at Coca-Cola.He had tried to negotiate with the workers, he said, but they were not interested in his suggestions.”The company is prepared to sit down and figure out what the genuine problem is, but in an orderly fashion,” he said.The workers would have to sit down with the company, either individually or in small groups according to their positions, he said, to figure out what they are supposed to be earning.He did not have much success persuading the protesters, however.”Some were making sense, but others were trying to instigate workers who were not even part of them, trying to get them to stop working and join them”, he said.Kapemba said he was not in a position to discuss the workers’ allegations that they do not have a basic wage agreement, and that their commission rate was not explained to them.He said, however, that he was aware of a claim by one worker that he had only received N$4,75.While stating that he was not aware of all the facts surrounding this case, Kapemba disputed the accuracy of this claim.”I’ve enquired about this, and apparently this has to do with some sort of short-payment that had been due to this employee,” he said.Friday was payday, the workers say, but they apparently did not receive anything from their employer, APS.When they insisted on receiving their pay before doing any work, they claim Coca-Cola management threatened to cancel their contracts and get new workers from the labour-hire company. “Imagine being paid N$4,75, would you accept that?” asked Jas Kambatu, showing The Namibian a cheque that was supposedly issued to one of his fellow employees.”I’ve been coming to work despite not having been paid anything for the past two months,” added another worker, Robert Festus.The workers claim that they have no basic wage agreement, adding that they work only on a commission basis.”We work on commission, but we’re not even explained how this commission works.We don’t understand, we work but what is our rate?” said Danie Platt, who apparently has been working for APS since last month.Despite an attempt by APS labour consultant Johannes Kapembe to speak to the workers, they remained outside the bottling plant most of the morning, and by yesterday afternoon, the situation had still not been settled.Speaking to The Namibian yesterday afternoon, Kapembe said he had arrived in Windhoek from the North yesterday for another engagement when he heard of the ruckus at Coca-Cola.He had tried to negotiate with the workers, he said, but they were not interested in his suggestions.”The company is prepared to sit down and figure out what the genuine problem is, but in an orderly fashion,” he said.The workers would have to sit down with the company, either individually or in small groups according to their positions, he said, to figure out what they are supposed to be earning.He did not have much success persuading the protesters, however.”Some were making sense, but others were trying to instigate workers who were not even part of them, trying to get them to stop working and join them”, he said.Kapemba said he was not in a position to discuss the workers’ allegations that they do not have a basic wage agreement, and that their commission rate was not explained to them.He said, however, that he was aware of a claim by one worker that he had only received N$4,75.While stating that he was not aware of all the facts surrounding this case, Kapemba disputed the accuracy of this claim.”I’ve enquired about this, and apparently this has to do with some sort of short-payment that had been due to this employee,” he said.