Labour Ministry understaffed, ill equipped

THE Ministry of Labour and Social Services has inadequate infrastructure and insufficient staff and could not carry out some capital projects in the past financial year due to “bureaucratic processes that delayed their implementation,” says Minister Alfeus Naruseb.

Motivating the ministerial budget of N$787,2 million on Monday in Parliament, Naruseb said the staff shortage affected the Ministry’s ability to provide services consistently throughout the country. He announced that the Ministry would hold a national labour conference later in the year “to promote harmonious labour relations and social dialogue as an integral part of national development.”The Labour Ministry has 36 labour inspectors and 12 regional offices.It has taken over the duty of registering pensioners who receive a monthly State pension of N$370.There are 142 000 registered pensioners and the annual budget for pensions amounts to N$659 million.In the past year, the Ministry also assisted families to bury over 4 000 people through a Government funeral assistance scheme.”We budgeted N$29 million to ensure that senior citizens will be given decent and dignified funerals,” Naruseb said.Many Namibians are not aware that they are entitled to funeral benefits and the Ministry will undertake to raise awareness.Naruseb further informed the House that his Ministry received 10 300 labour complaints over the past year and 6 500 of them were amicably resolved out of court with the assistance of labour inspectors.However, the Minister said it was a matter of great concern that some companies in the construction sector did not comply with the stipulated minimum wages and other basic employment conditions.”This state of affairs inflates the number of disputes in an already volatile labour market and exerts pressure on the already understaffed Ministry,” he cautioned.He added that the Ministry had identified a need to sensitise Government’s tender board and several ministries like Fisheries, Mining and Trade about their obligation “to comply with the provisions of the Labour Act that require all parties working under contract for Government not to hire employees on less favourable conditions” than those prevailing in the relevant industry.He announced that the Ministry would hold a national labour conference later in the year “to promote harmonious labour relations and social dialogue as an integral part of national development.”The Labour Ministry has 36 labour inspectors and 12 regional offices.It has taken over the duty of registering pensioners who receive a monthly State pension of N$370.There are 142 000 registered pensioners and the annual budget for pensions amounts to N$659 million.In the past year, the Ministry also assisted families to bury over 4 000 people through a Government funeral assistance scheme.”We budgeted N$29 million to ensure that senior citizens will be given decent and dignified funerals,” Naruseb said.Many Namibians are not aware that they are entitled to funeral benefits and the Ministry will undertake to raise awareness.Naruseb further informed the House that his Ministry received 10 300 labour complaints over the past year and 6 500 of them were amicably resolved out of court with the assistance of labour inspectors.However, the Minister said it was a matter of great concern that some companies in the construction sector did not comply with the stipulated minimum wages and other basic employment conditions.”This state of affairs inflates the number of disputes in an already volatile labour market and exerts pressure on the already understaffed Ministry,” he cautioned.He added that the Ministry had identified a need to sensitise Government’s tender board and several ministries like Fisheries, Mining and Trade about their obligation “to comply with the provisions of the Labour Act that require all parties working under contract for Government not to hire employees on less favourable conditions” than those prevailing in the relevant industry.