Labour Ministry looking for ill former Ramatex workers

FORMER Ramatex employees who have been diagnosed as having health problems that could be traced to their employment with the textile factory in Windhoek are being asked to contact the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare so that they can be referred for specialist medical treatment.

A medical doctor who examined 2 432 former Ramatex employees in April last year found that 46 of them had ‘work-related abnormalities’ such as eye and skin irritations and lung conditions that could be connected to their employment at the Ramatex factory, an Occupational Health and Safety Inspector with the Ministry of Labour of Social Welfare, Ileni Shikwambi, said yesterday.The doctor examined the former Ramatex workers after the Ramatex factory in Windhoek closed in early March last year.The factory had been dogged by concerns over its environmental impact and its alleged exploitation of low-paid employees since it set up shop in Windhoek in 2002.According to Shikwambi, the Labour Ministry wants to refer the 46 ex-employees diagnosed with work-related health problems to a specialist who will be able to provide treatment to these people.Only six of the 46 identified former Ramatex employees have contacted the Labour Ministry for referral to the specialist.Shikwambi asked the remaining 40 former Ramatex workers to also contact the Ministry so that they can be given medical treatment.He said the treatment would be free for the former Ramatex employees.The Social Security Commission is set to bear the costs. The treatment would only focus on the conditions identified by the doctor who examined the people last year, with the aim of restoring the former Ramatex workers’ health and enabling them to return to other employment without health problems, he added.The former Ramatex workers who were told after the doctor’s examination last year that they have medical conditions related to their employment are asked to contact Shikwambi at 081 127 9331.werner@namibian.com.na