Labour Bill faces backlash

APPARENT undue haste to get the Labour Bill 2006 onto the statue books has sparked unease among both the business community and trade unions.

It is Government’s latest bid to come up with effective labour legislation, and is set to replace the controversial and ill-fated Labour Act of 2004 – of which, to date, only a few sections have been implemented – and the Labour Act 1992. A preliminary version of the Labour Bill 2006 was circulated to the tripartite Labour Advisory Council by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare early last week.Responses have to be in by Monday.The 2006 Bill attempts to address deficiencies in the Labour Act 2004 Immediate concerns about the revamped legislation centre on technical and drafting errors, a lack of discussion on key provisions, and the economic impact of the legislation on the country – particularly in light of Namibia’s commitment to achieving Vision 2030.There are also fears that perceived weaknesses in the Bill could lead to confusion and and potential disputes.”It is almost impossible to scrutinise all 130 pages of the new draft legislation in such a short time,” said Tim Parkhouse, General Secretary of the Namibia Employers’ Federation (NEF) yesterday.”There are again several technical and drafting errors in the 2006 document that will lead to confusion and potential disputes,” Parkhouse said.”We appreciate that we can peruse the draft before the Labour Minister will table it in the National Assembly, but the time is very short.”Parkhouse said the NEF feared that “there appears to be an attempt like in 2004 to steamroll a poorly drafted Labour Bill onto the statute books”.He said there were several changes in the 2006 version that were never discussed with the Labour Advisory Council, which consists of employers, labour unions and Government representatives.”The same procedure happened in 2004,” Parkhouse told The Namibian.He said the new Bill gave more bargaining power to labour unions, which would undermine the collective bargaining relationship between employers and trade unions.”It will simply hand rights to unions whilst further watering down employers’ rights.”The new Labour Bill would have a major impact on the country and its national goals, Parkhouse said.”It will most certainly affect the achievability of the country’s Vision 2030,” he added.Trade unions are also unhappy about the short period for scrutiny.”We only reluctantly agreed to the deadline of September 25, there is hardly a chance to study the draft properly,” an administrative official at the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) told this newspaper yesterday.The Namibia Employers’ Federation has urged employers to study the Bill and send comments to the NEF by Friday so that a submission can be made to the Labour Advisory Council on behalf of employers.The 2004 Bill included generous leave of 24 consecutive working days plus five days’ compassionate leave.According to a study conducted by the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (Nepru) last year, the additional leave days would lower the Gross Domestic Product by two per cent and cost employers N$308 million.The Labour Bill 2006 provides for a basic four weeks paid leave per year.A preliminary version of the Labour Bill 2006 was circulated to the tripartite Labour Advisory Council by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare early last week.Responses have to be in by Monday.The 2006 Bill attempts to address deficiencies in the Labour Act 2004 Immediate concerns about the revamped legislation centre on technical and drafting errors, a lack of discussion on key provisions, and the economic impact of the legislation on the country – particularly in light of Namibia’s commitment to achieving Vision 2030.There are also fears that perceived weaknesses in the Bill could lead to confusion and and potential disputes.”It is almost impossible to scrutinise all 130 pages of the new draft legislation in such a short time,” said Tim Parkhouse, General Secretary of the Namibia Employers’ Federation (NEF) yesterday.”There are again several technical and drafting errors in the 2006 document that will lead to confusion and potential disputes,” Parkhouse said.”We appreciate that we can peruse the draft before the Labour Minister will table it in the National Assembly, but the time is very short.”Parkhouse said the NEF feared that “there appears to be an attempt like in 2004 to steamroll a poorly drafted Labour Bill onto the statute books”.He said there were several changes in the 2006 version that were never discussed with the Labour Advisory Council, which consists of employers, labour unions and Government representatives.”The same procedure happened in 2004,” Parkhouse told The Namibian.He said the new Bill gave more bargaining power to labour unions, which would undermine the collective bargaining relationship between employers and trade unions.”It will simply hand rights to unions whilst further watering down employers’ rights.”The new Labour Bill would have a major impact on the country and its national goals, Parkhouse said.”It will most certainly affect the achievability of the country’s Vision 2030,” he added.Trade unions are also unhappy about the short period for scrutiny.”We only reluctantly agreed to the deadline of September 25, there is hardly a chance to study the draft properly,” an administrative official at the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) told this newspaper yesterday.The Namibia Employers’ Federation has urged employers to study the Bill and send comments to the NEF by Friday so that a submission can be made to the Labour Advisory Council on behalf of employers.The 2004 Bill included generous leave of 24 consecutive working days plus five days’ compassionate leave.According to a study conducted by the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (Nepru) last year, the additional leave days would lower the Gross Domestic Product by two per cent and cost employers N$308 million.The Labour Bill 2006 provides for a basic four weeks paid leave per year.