Demo ‘driven by personal vendetta’

THE National Organisation for Small and Medium Enterprises of Namibia (Nosmena) has responded to a demonstration staged by workers at Commercial Investment Corporation (CIC) on Friday, charging that the workers were driven solely by a personal vendetta against the company’s Operations Manager, Gunter Krauer.

CIC is a member of Nosmena. Workers on Friday delivered a petition to general manager Marcel Lambrecht, in which they accused CIC management of unfairly protecting Krauer during a disciplinary hearing.Krauer had apparently been involved in an argument with a fellow employee in which insults were exchanged, which ultimately led to the suspension of the other employee, workers allege.Krauer, on the other hand, emerged from the ensuing disciplinary action unscathed, the workers say.They also claimed that, although company policy clearly stipulates that no legal or external representatives may be consulted by employees during disciplinary hearings, Krauer was allowed to bring in a labour consultant.Nosmena CEO Cor Beuke said yesterday that workers and the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union’s version of the story was “highly inaccurate”.Beuke said that Krauer had been suspended until the outcome of his disciplinary hearing, and that he had no representation whatsoever during his hearing.”The consultant referred to was the chairperson of the hearing as using a company employee to chair the hearing would be irregular as Mr Krauer forms part of top management.Mr Krauer was found not guilty of the charges against him because of a lack of evidence from the company, as the witnesses refused to testify when they found out that there would be an independent chairperson,” Beuke stated yesterday.”The action by the employees and the union against Mr Krauer is of a personal nature as Mr Krauer has a management style of strict and consistent discipline.The allegations against Mr Krauer border on defamation but that is something that he needs to act upon in his private capacity if he should wish to do so,” Beuke said.CIC maintained yesterday that it will only reply to the allegations and demands made by the workers and Nafau on Wednesday in a written response, as was requested in the petition.Workers on Friday delivered a petition to general manager Marcel Lambrecht, in which they accused CIC management of unfairly protecting Krauer during a disciplinary hearing.Krauer had apparently been involved in an argument with a fellow employee in which insults were exchanged, which ultimately led to the suspension of the other employee, workers allege.Krauer, on the other hand, emerged from the ensuing disciplinary action unscathed, the workers say.They also claimed that, although company policy clearly stipulates that no legal or external representatives may be consulted by employees during disciplinary hearings, Krauer was allowed to bring in a labour consultant. Nosmena CEO Cor Beuke said yesterday that workers and the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union’s version of the story was “highly inaccurate”.Beuke said that Krauer had been suspended until the outcome of his disciplinary hearing, and that he had no representation whatsoever during his hearing.”The consultant referred to was the chairperson of the hearing as using a company employee to chair the hearing would be irregular as Mr Krauer forms part of top management.Mr Krauer was found not guilty of the charges against him because of a lack of evidence from the company, as the witnesses refused to testify when they found out that there would be an independent chairperson,” Beuke stated yesterday.”The action by the employees and the union against Mr Krauer is of a personal nature as Mr Krauer has a management style of strict and consistent discipline.The allegations against Mr Krauer border on defamation but that is something that he needs to act upon in his private capacity if he should wish to do so,” Beuke said.CIC maintained yesterday that it will only reply to the allegations and demands made by the workers and Nafau on Wednesday in a written response, as was requested in the petition.