The Mineworkers’ Union of Namibia (MUN) says mineworkers are not adequately benefiting from the sector.
Speaking at the recent national public dialogue on the promotion of decent work within the Namibian mining
sector, MUN general secretary George Ampweya said although the sector is one of the largest, its benefits are not equally shared with the workers who drive it.
“Yet today, we are seeing the systematic erosion of job security through subcontracting, poor living conditions, and technological change without a human plan.
We cannot call an industry successful when its workers live in fear and instability,” he said.
Ampweya said there is widespread casualisation of labour and inadequate enforcement of social and labour plans.
He said the MUN aims to address these issues with a four-pillar framework for decent work: employment, rights, protection, and dialogue.
“A just transition is not automatic. It must be negotiated, planned, and funded. We need laws that protect permanent work, union access to all mineworkers, and social and labour plans that are binding contracts, not broken promises.”
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