Since assuming office, president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has placed great emphasis on job creation through local beneficiation and targeted support programmes for the youth.
This has earned Namibia attention beyond our borders but it remains to be seen what measures will be taken to change the neo-colonial nature of our economy.
The president has set an ambitious target of 500 000 new jobs. If only half of that is achieved, it would visibly make a dent in Namibia’s unemployment rate.
The government has taken a first step by banning the export of unprocessed lithium and through regulations for on-land processing of fish.
However, this is not enough. We need similar legislative and policy changes for our raw materials if we want to create the envisaged number of new jobs.
Our unemployment rate is put at around 54% if discouraged unemployed job seekers are added to those actively looking for work.
MINIMUM WAGES
Legislative and policy measures on job creation alone are insufficient to tackle the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
It cannot be addressed if starvation wages are allowed to persist alongside huge wage gaps between workers and management.
Likewise, the enormous gap between capital and labour in the share of the national income has to be addressed.
We have a problem of the ‘working poor’ as many employed workers are unable to meet their basic needs.
Recent data indicates that most employed workers earn less than N$5 000 a month with 45% earning below N$3 000.
A mere 2.6% of employed Namibians earn more than N$40 000 a month.
Workers’ lived realities are worsened by employers who take advantage of workers’ desperation.
Some do not even adhere to legal requirements like paid leave, extra pay for overtime and minimum wages.
This was exemplified by the response of employers to a national minimum wage.
After 35 years of independence, the first national minimum wage was set at N$18 an hour and introduced in January 2025.
This translates into a monthly income of about N$3 400 for a person working 45 hours a week.
Instead of welcoming the minimum wage as a modest step forward, the Namibian Employers Federation (NEF) immediately urged the government to halt its implementation, labelling it unaffordable.
It signalled that employers were determined to maintain a low wage economy which locks workers into poverty.
TRADE UNIONS
Given the hardships workers endure, the role of trade unions as the collective voice of workers is crucial.
They need to be at the forefront of raising workers’ concerns and be the driving force behind a campaign for structural change to benefit working class interests.
It was therefore astonishing that our oldest trade union federation, the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), invited the employers’ federation to speak at its May Day rally at Oshakati last year.
The very organisation which had just opposed the minimum wage was welcomed as “comrades” at the event!
This is a sign of the deep crisis in our trade unions.
Far from the ideal of achieving “one country, one union federation” and “one industry, one union”, Namibia has more than 40 registered trade unions and three union federations.
These unions barely cooperate, even on matters that affect all workers.
One of the dividing lines is independence from political parties.
The NUNW is affiliated to Swapo while the other two federations, the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna) and the smaller Namibia National Labour Organisation (Nanlo), reject such a link.
BROADER CRISIS
However, the union crisis goes beyond political affiliation.
In the 1980s, many trade unions still raised issues beyond the workplace, addressing political demands alongside demands for better working and living conditions.
After independence, the unions’ role became that of a “social partner” within a narrowly defined tripartite arrangement.
The government became the sole decision-maker while trade unions and employers were consulted within a ‘social dialogue’ framework that looked at labour issues narrowly without addressing the broader constraints of a neo-colonial economy.
Many trade unions experienced increasing levels of bureaucratisation.
It saw a shift away from social movement unionism and the principle of workers control towards “business unionism” with hierarchical structures with little emphasis on workers’ mobilisation for social and economic changes.
This also meant that unions barely engaged with other community organisation to address common problems like the housing crisis.
WHAT NEXT?
Given this scenario, Namibian workers and their trade unions have a mountain to climb.
Their challenges are linked to our neo-colonial economic structures and the byproducts of massive levels of poverty and inequality.
Workers will have to once again turn their unions into struggle organisations to confront injustices and exclusion head on.
This will require significant changes in terms of trade unions’ orientation and practices but it can be done.
Namibian workers have shown great resilience in the face of adversity before.
- Herbert Jauch is a labour researcher and author of an upcoming book ‘Workers, Trade Unions and Politics in Namibia: A Long Journey of Resistance’.
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.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
