Cross Country Carriers in shock closure

ONE of the country’s oldest courier companies, Cross Country Carriers, yesterday summarily retrenched its entire workforce of 202 people.

Today will be their last working day. Late yesterday afternoon, shocked workers milled about aimlessly outside the head office shortly before the end of the working day as management and the union met behind closed doors..Employees who spoke to The Namibian said the move had come like a bolt out of the blue.In a letter to its staff in Windhoek yesterday afternoon, the company cited economic difficulties for its immediate closure.Workers were told to stop working after lunchtime.”Due to economic reasons it is not viable for Cross Country Carriers to continue with its business activities.Cross Country Carriers has no other option but to discontinue all its operations to close down the organisation,” the letter says.It distributed among employees and sent to the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Natau) and the Labour Commissioner.Workers The Namibian spoke to said they were unsure about their future and whether they would find alternative employment.They said there had been no indication that they would lose their jobs.One appeared concerned that drivers still on the road and those based at other depots had not yet heard the news.The company said yesterday that because of its dire financial position it was unable to comply with the Labour Law which requires at least four weeks’ notice of the intention to re-organise the business.It said the situation had forced the company’s immediate closure.Employees were informed that some of them could expect to be employed by other transport companies that would take over some of its business functions.But by late yesterday none of them knew whether they would be lucky enough to be considered.The courier company has offered to pay employees not employed by other transport companies a month’s salary and a week’s severance pay.This arrangement, it said, was subject to negotiations with the union.The courier service was established in 1980 and has several depots at major centres across the country.Late yesterday afternoon, shocked workers milled about aimlessly outside the head office shortly before the end of the working day as management and the union met behind closed doors..Employees who spoke to The Namibian said the move had come like a bolt out of the blue.In a letter to its staff in Windhoek yesterday afternoon, the company cited economic difficulties for its immediate closure.Workers were told to stop working after lunchtime.”Due to economic reasons it is not viable for Cross Country Carriers to continue with its business activities.Cross Country Carriers has no other option but to discontinue all its operations to close down the organisation,” the letter says.It distributed among employees and sent to the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Natau) and the Labour Commissioner.Workers The Namibian spoke to said they were unsure about their future and whether they would find alternative employment.They said there had been no indication that they would lose their jobs.One appeared concerned that drivers still on the road and those based at other depots had not yet heard the news.The company said yesterday that because of its dire financial position it was unable to comply with the Labour Law which requires at least four weeks’ notice of the intention to re-organise the business.It said the situation had forced the company’s immediate closure.Employees were informed that some of them could expect to be employed by other transport companies that would take over some of its business functions.But by late yesterday none of them knew whether they would be lucky enough to be considered.The courier company has offered to pay employees not employed by other transport companies a month’s salary and a week’s severance pay.This arrangement, it said, was subject to negotiations with the union.The courier service was established in 1980 and has several depots at major centres across the country.