Charcoal industry eyes better deal for workers

WORKERS in the charcoal industry need better working conditions, the Namibia Charcoal Producers’ Association (NCPA) has agreed.

The industry produces about 45 000 tonnes of charcoal a year and is gaining importance in the agricultural sector. At the NCPA’s annual general meeting at Otjiwarongo, members agreed that 30 per cent of what farmers earn per tonne of charcoal should go to their workers.Thursday’s meeting was attended by about 250 producers, including a few emerging black farmers and 20 buyers from as far as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and South Africa.”Prices average around N$ 800 per tonne”, said NCPA chairman Willem Enslin.”Thirty per cent of that should go to the workers.”The proposal was accepted.Charcoal workers are often migratory and are not paid hourly or monthly wages, but a percentage of the value of every tonne of charcoal produced.Until now, that was just above 20 per cent.Because of increasing bush encroachment by some acacia species and blackthorn bushes, 26 million hectares of farmland has become impenetrable to livestock and game, reducing farming activities and income.The labour-intensive removal of invader bush with axes or pangas, and the burning of the wood in kilns to produce charcoal, are risky jobs.Labourers, who are mainly recruited from the Kavango and north-central regions, manage to produce four to five tonnes of charcoal a month.The carbonisation process is done in mobile kilns, which are preferred to fixed kilns to reduce wood transport costs.After kilning, the charcoal is shifted, graded and packed.Generally, five tonnes of wood is needed to manufacture one tonne of charcoal.Namibia has about 200 charcoal producers, most of them NCPA members, and nearly 3 000 labourers are employed in the industry, albeit under adverse conditions.”We live in the bush on the farms and have to bring our own sleeping bags, cooking equipment, food and the knives and axes to hack the bushes,” one cutter told The Namibian.”The NPCA is in constant dialogue with the Ministry of Labour and the Namibia Farmworkers’ Union, discussing improved working conditions for charcoal cutters (those who cut the bushes) and charcoal burners,” Enslin told the AGM.”We will finalise the issue in due course.”Joseph Hailwa, the Director of Forestry, who read the opening speech on behalf of Minister Nickey Iyambo, said farmers and labourers in the charcoal industry should put their heads together to avoid labour problems.”On the other hand, workers’ unions and all the workers’ sympathisers should not continue complaining and exaggerating issues without proposing viable and acceptable solutions and keeping in mind that a profit must be made to keep the charcoal business viable,” Hailwa read from Minister Iyambo’s speech.”Tripartite agreements must be reached and respected to ensure fair practices.”Hailwa announced that the ministry would establish a Woodlands Management Council with all stakeholders to ensure sustainable forest and bush utilisation.At the NCPA’s annual general meeting at Otjiwarongo, members agreed that 30 per cent of what farmers earn per tonne of charcoal should go to their workers.Thursday’s meeting was attended by about 250 producers, including a few emerging black farmers and 20 buyers from as far as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and South Africa.”Prices average around N$ 800 per tonne”, said NCPA chairman Willem Enslin.”Thirty per cent of that should go to the workers.”The proposal was accepted.Charcoal workers are often migratory and are not paid hourly or monthly wages, but a percentage of the value of every tonne of charcoal produced.Until now, that was just above 20 per cent.Because of increasing bush encroachment by some acacia species and blackthorn bushes, 26 million hectares of farmland has become impenetrable to livestock and game, reducing farming activities and income.The labour-intensive removal of invader bush with axes or pangas, and the burning of the wood in kilns to produce charcoal, are risky jobs. Labourers, who are mainly recruited from the Kavango and north-central regions, manage to produce four to five tonnes of charcoal a month.The carbonisation process is done in mobile kilns, which are preferred to fixed kilns to reduce wood transport costs.After kilning, the charcoal is shifted, graded and packed.Generally, five tonnes of wood is needed to manufacture one tonne of charcoal.Namibia has about 200 charcoal producers, most of them NCPA members, and nearly 3 000 labourers are employed in the industry, albeit under adverse conditions.”We live in the bush on the farms and have to bring our own sleeping bags, cooking equipment, food and the knives and axes to hack the bushes,” one cutter told The Namibian.”The NPCA is in constant dialogue with the Ministry of Labour and the Namibia Farmworkers’ Union, discussing improved working conditions for charcoal cutters (those who cut the bushes) and charcoal burners,” Enslin told the AGM.”We will finalise the issue in due course.”Joseph Hailwa, the Director of Forestry, who read the opening speech on behalf of Minister Nickey Iyambo, said farmers and labourers in the charcoal industry should put their heads together to avoid labour problems.”On the other hand, workers’ unions and all the workers’ sympathisers should not continue complaining and exaggerating issues without proposing viable and acceptable solutions and keeping in mind that a profit must be made to keep the charcoal business viable,” Hailwa read from Minister Iyambo’s speech.”Tripartite agreements must be reached and respected to ensure fair practices.”Hailwa announced that the ministry would establish a Woodlands Management Council with all stakeholders to ensure sustainable forest and bush utilisation.