Contract work the new labour hire

IN the wake of civil and Government opposition to labour hire, many Namibian companies have resorted to recruiting workers on a contract basis.

While the contract labour system involves no third-party agent, contract workers are no better off than labour-hire workers, as they also get only a basic pay with no benefits.President Hifikepunye Pohamba in May last year lashed out at labour hire and committed his Government to rooting out the system that has been equated to the dreaded colonial contract labour.Under the labour-hire system workers are employed by an agency and leased to companies at a cost.Contract workers, just like labour-hire workers, have no medical aid, pension or other benefits that permanent employees at most companies enjoy.A contract worker at MTC who spoke on condition of anonymity claims to have been on contract with the firm for the past four years. ‘I received an extension of six months extra, after that I will have to hunt for a job again if my contract is not extended,’ the employee said.Another public office said to make use of contract work is the Ministry of Justice.The Namibian received an anonymous SMS that was published on Thursday, January 13, reading as follows: ‘The Ministry of Justice is employing all prospective prosecutors on a contract basis, yet they claim that the reason for the backlog of cases is a lack of staff. How do they expect people from other ministries with relevant law degrees to join the prosecution if there are no benefits that they are currently enjoying at other ministries such as medical aid, pension etc.’The NBC is also known to be making use of contract employment.Asked to comment on contract labour, the deputy director of Labour Services at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Felix Musukivili said if a post is permanent but the company continues to extend an employee’s contract rather than appoint them permanently, then a case can be made. ‘We have received complaints of that nature before and we persistently advise people to report for arbitration with the office of the ministry,’ says Musukivili.’What is the use of Government fighting to get rid of labour hire if contract employment is just a new system where employees are being exploited? If Government really wants people to be protected in the workforce then everybody should rather be employed on a permanent basis,’ another anonymous complainant said.The Government’s plan to ban labour hire did not pass a legal test last year when an amendment to the Labour Act outlawing the practice was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, as it did not protect the right to practice an ‘occupation, trade and business’.Approached for comment last week, the NBC and the Ministry of Works requested written questions, which were submitted, but the institutions to date have not responded.

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