Lüderitz Council gets order against strikers

TACTICS used by more than a hundred striking employees of the Lüderitz Town Council were declared unlawful by the Labour Court in Windhoek yesterday.

In an order issued by Acting Judge Gerson Hinda, the Namibia Public Workers Union and 116 striking employees of the Lüderitz Town Council were ordered not to intimidate, harass, assault or interfere with non-striking council employees and not to interfere with or obstruct town council workers continuing to carry out the council’s operations.Actions taken by the union and the striking employees that interfere with or obstruct the normal operation of the town council were further declared to be unlawful, unless these actions are for the purpose of participating in a lawful strike and part of the right to peaceful picketing.The order was given by Acting Judge Hinda after the Lüderitz Town Council went to the Labour Court with an urgent application against Napwu and the 116 striking workers.The Lüderitz Town Council’s Strategic Executive: Finance, Thomas Shipepe, informed the court in an affidavit that the town council and Napwu started wage negotiations for the 2009/10 financial year in early August. By August 13, the negotiations had reached deadlock, and by August 21, Napwu notified the town council that it would be taking industrial action, Shipepe stated.The strike started on August 27.Shipepe claimed that as a result of the strike, some of the sewage lines at Lüderitz became blocked and began overflowing, resulting in a health risk to residents of the town.With non-striking employees of the town council having already been threatened by union officials not to continue with their normal work, Shipepe claimed that on August 30 Napwu officials also threatened him and other non-striking employees while they were pumping sewage from blocked sewage lines. One of the union officials removed a part from a mobile pump that was being used to pump the sewage, preventing them from continuing with their work, Shipepe stated.He claimed that on September 3 the strikers’ actions escalated.The electricity supply to Nautilus North, a part of Lüderitz, was cut off that day and it was discovered that fuses had been removed from electrical transformers on the power line to that area, Shipepe stated.While attempting to replace the fuses, Napwu officials and some strikers arrived and drove off with the two vehicles that the electricity repair crew was using, Shipepe informed the court.Tools needed to unblock sewers and reconnect water and electricity supply were later found to have been removed from the vehicles, and a case of theft was opened with the Police, Shipepe stated.On Sunday, town council employees were again attending to a blocked sewerage pump station when, while they were pumping sewerage to clear a blockage, Napwu officials and striking workers arrived at the pump station and locked the non-striking workers inside the station, according to Shipepe.He claimed that the Police appears to be helpless in preventing Napwu and striking workers from continuing with allegedly unlawful actions. ‘Their attitude is to allow the striking employees their way and impressing upon the (town council) not to aggravate the situation,’ Shipepe stated.He claimed that the situation at the town is becoming dire, as it is expected that sewers would continue flowing into an overflow pond, and as soon as that pond is full, sewerage could start running down to a nearby school.Shipepe claimed that the union’s and strikers’ actions are unlawful and pose a danger to the life, personal safety and health of the residents of Lüderitz.The order given late yesterday afternoon is in effect until October 9.Adolf Denk, instructed by Saima Nambinga of LorentzAngula Inc, appeared for the Lüderitz Town Council in the urgent application. Napwu and the striking employees were not represented in court.