Chinese companies pay below min wage

MINIMUM wages for labourers in the construction industry start at N$8 an hour, but most Chinese companies in the sector pay far less, a new report reveals.

An internal and yet unpublished report compiled by inspectors at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare reveals that the majority of Chinese building contractors pay workers around N$3 an hour and that they contravene several sections of the Labour Act. On top of that, these Chinese firms employ workers mostly from Zimbabwe, other parts of Africa and Asia.Inspections were done by Ministry officials in June last year, but the report has not yet been made public.”Many Namibian construction companies do comply with minimum wage and minimum age stipulations, do provide information on HIV-AIDS to their workers and comply with occupational health and safety rules, while many foreign companies do the contrary,” the inspectors found.”It was also discovered that most of the Chinese companies do not comply with all the relevant provisions of the Labour Act, including the minimum wages.”No records of any activities are being kept at all regarding conditions of employment of their workers as required by Section 4 of the Labour Act,” the Ministry’s inspectors noted in their report.”These companies do also employ many foreign unskilled or semi-skilled workers at the expense of Namibian workers.They pay workers as little as N$2,77 to N$3 per hour, which is far less than the agreed minimum rate [of N$8].”The report further stated that Chinese construction companies “employ workers from all over Asia and Africa, mostly from Zimbabwe, and these foreign workers accept any rate they are offered due to (their) difficult living situation and conditions in their countries of origin.”Another tactic was to evade their responsibilities towards their employees by employing workers through sub-contractors “or individuals of non-registered companies”.”These so-called companies would receive payment from the main or principal contractors and once they received the payment, they would never pay out the full amount to the workers for the services delivered,” the report stated.Another way to pay less than the minimum wage was to demand education certificates from labourers, the Labour Ministry found out.”Many labourers do not possess these certificates, but they can do the work due to long practical experience.Some companies refuse to pay the workers the correct wage, as they do not possess the certificates.Even worse, some construction companies use labour-hire firms to get workers.”Labour inspectors covered 16 towns in different parts of Namibia and examined about 80 construction companies.The Construction Industries Federation (CIF) would not comment on the report.”We are aware that such a report exists, but it is not made public yet,” an official of the CIF told this newspaper yesterday.The Namibian was unable to obtain comment from the Labour Ministry, as nobody was prepared to speak to the media about the internal report.On top of that, these Chinese firms employ workers mostly from Zimbabwe, other parts of Africa and Asia.Inspections were done by Ministry officials in June last year, but the report has not yet been made public.”Many Namibian construction companies do comply with minimum wage and minimum age stipulations, do provide information on HIV-AIDS to their workers and comply with occupational health and safety rules, while many foreign companies do the contrary,” the inspectors found.”It was also discovered that most of the Chinese companies do not comply with all the relevant provisions of the Labour Act, including the minimum wages.”No records of any activities are being kept at all regarding conditions of employment of their workers as required by Section 4 of the Labour Act,” the Ministry’s inspectors noted in their report.”These companies do also employ many foreign unskilled or semi-skilled workers at the expense of Namibian workers.They pay workers as little as N$2,77 to N$3 per hour, which is far less than the agreed minimum rate [of N$8].”The report further stated that Chinese construction companies “employ workers from all over Asia and Africa, mostly from Zimbabwe, and these foreign workers accept any rate they are offered due to (their) difficult living situation and conditions in their countries of origin.”Another tactic was to evade their responsibilities towards their employees by employing workers through sub-contractors “or individuals of non-registered companies”.”These so-called companies would receive payment from the main or principal contractors and once they received the payment, they would never pay out the full amount to the workers for the services delivered,” the report stated.Another way to pay less than the minimum wage was to demand education certificates from labourers, the Labour Ministry found out.”Many labourers do not possess these certificates, but they can do the work due to long practical experience.Some companies refuse to pay the workers the correct wage, as they do not possess the certificates.Even worse, some construction companies use labour-hire firms to get workers.”Labour inspectors covered 16 towns in different parts of Namibia and examined about 80 construction companies.The Construction Industries Federation (CIF) would not comment on the report.”We are aware that such a report exists, but it is not made public yet,” an official of the CIF told this newspaper yesterday.The Namibian was unable to obtain comment from the Labour Ministry, as nobody was prepared to speak to the media about the internal report.