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Kombat Mine bosses dribble past workers’ union

The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) has written to labour minister, Utoni Nujoma asking him to to intervene in the Kombat Mine retrenchment saga.

“We urgently request an audience with you to discuss the ongoing labour violations at Trigon Metals Kombat Mine, particularly the unlawful retrenchments and subsequent lockout of over 500 Namibian workers under the directive of the vice president for operations, Stephanus Muller,” MUN general secretary Filleppuss Ampweya wrote to Nujoma on 31 January.

This follows a broken agreement the union reportedly struck with mine management on Thursday to stop the retrenchments until the parties had negotiated the terms.

MUN northern regional organiser Reginald Kock wrote on social media: “Union stops unlawful retrenchment at Kombat”.

He added: “Trigon wanted to hastily and dishonestly retrench employees. They wanted to retrench with as little as N$100. We will mobilise and continue to reject unfairness and employee victimisation.”

The union also posted: “In a decisive move, MUN has halted illegal retrenchment proceedings at Trigon Metals’ Kombat Mine, fiercely protecting the rights and livelihoods of over 500 employees.”

The union said despite management’s previous assurance that no retrenchments were planned, employees were discreetly forced to sign termination letters before a meeting with MUN representatives could take place.

“In response to MUN’s firm stance, management has agreed to defer the issuance of all notices and engage in discussions with the union on behalf of the employees.

“Though this move doesn’t entirely nullify the retrenchment process, MUN is optimistic that this collective engagement will ensure just termination benefits for the workers,” the union added.

This, however, appeared a hollow victory for the union.

On Friday, the union said Muller had directed that workers be locked out of the mine, in contravention of the Namibian Labour Act.

Writing to the minister, Ampweya added: “While the company has made misleading promises to engage in collective bargaining, their actions indicate a clear lack of commitment to genuine negotiations, prioritising corporate interests over the well-being of Namibian workers.

“We fear that if such actions go unchecked, they will set a dangerous precedent that will further erode workers’ rights in our country,”

Trigon chief executive Jed Richardson said in a statement the company had temporarily suspended operations for about six to nine months due to the failure of its two dewatering pumps.

He said dewatering is expected to restart in the third quarter of 2025, once the pumps have been repaired.

As a result, Richardson said, the company will retrench most onsite employees.

He added: “While this temporary pause is not the outcome we envisioned, it is a critical step to strengthen Kombat’s infrastructure for sustained success.”

“We extend our deepest gratitude to our employees and contractors, whose dedication has been instrumental in our progress to date and to our stakeholders for their unwavering trust,” he said.

Trigon’s Namibian partner, Knowledge Katti, says: “We acknowledge the valid concerns of the Kombat community and all Trigon mining employees during this challenging period.”

“While this temporary pause is a setback, it is also an opportunity to strengthen our foundation for the future. Our commitment to Kombat remains unwavering – we are dedicated to ensuring that operations resume more sustainable than before,” Katti says.

An activist group calling itself ‘Kombat Mine Watch Team’ in a statement says the issue is not related to technical failures at Kombat Mine nor pump failure, as is alleged by management and executives.

It is purely mismanagement that involves incompetence and negligence, as well as non-compliance to overall mining standards and corruption, the group says in a statement signed by advocate Nevile Smith.

– email: matthew@namibian.com.na

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