Court order agreed in case about city cleaners’ strike

The City of Windhoek and a group of 267 contract cleaners who were involved in a month-long strike have reached a settlement in an urgent court application filed by the city in connection with the strike.

In terms of an agreed order issued by judge Nate Ndauendapo in the Windhoek High Court on Wednesday, 267 contract workers who took part in a strike since 9 October have now been ordered to carry out their strike and picketing at an assembly point at the City of Windhoek’s sold waste management department in the city’s Northern Industrial area.

Ndauendapo also set dates when the workers who took part in the strike should notify the court if they want to oppose an application by the Municipal Council of Windhoek for other court orders against the strikers.

The strikers returned to work earlier this week, lawyer Linus Mokhatu, who is representing the workers, said on Wednesday.

The strikers, who have been employed as street cleaners on a contract basis since July 2018, demand to be employed on a permanent basis and to have their pay increased, City of Windhoek chief executive Moses Matyayi informed the court in a sworn statement.

The workers have referred a dispute with the City of Windhoek to the Office of the Labour Commissioner.

Some of the striking workers assembled on a street corner next to the City of Windhoek’s head office, where they stayed overnight from the end of October, “causing noise pollution and generally being a nuisance”, according to Matyayi.

That was in breach of strike rules, in which it was agreed that striking workers would assemble at their place of employment, which is the city’s solid waste department in the Northern Industrial area, for their strike and to picket, Matyayi says in his affidavit.

In the further orders the council wants the court to issue, the court is being asked to order striking workers not to interfere with or interrupt the City of Windhoek’s operations at its head office, not to obstruct the movement of the public, vehicles, non-striking employees and customers of the City of Windhoek, not to defecate or urinate in public open places where they were assembled, and not to use “obscene, threatening or profane language” aimed at intimidating members of the public or non-striking city employees.

Ndauendapo issued the agreed order and postponed the city council’s application to 6 February for a status hearing.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.