MUN threatens national strike over Rosh Pinah stand-off

THE Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) has put its members countrywide on “maximum alert” for a national strike in solidarity with striking Rosh Pinah miners.

This was said yesterday by MUN Secretary General Joseph Hengari. In the same breath, Hengari said another meeting between MUN and the mine management was scheduled at Rosh Pinah today to try and resolve a labour dispute which has brought the mine to a halt.Workers and management are at odds over wage increases.Also yesterday, MUN denied that it had cancelled wage negotiations scheduled for last Friday in Windhoek.Earlier this week, the Kumba mining group’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations, Trevor Arran, told The Namibian that the union had called off the meeting at the eleventh hour.MUN’s Hengari said that the planned meeting was not to negotiate wage demands, but to update union officials on the current state of affairs at the Rosh Pinah zinc mine in the South.Workers at the Rosh Pinah mine went on strike a week ago, demanding a wage increase of between 12 and 14 per cent.The Kumba Group offered a nine per cent increase for workers in lower grades and eight per cent for the other grades.The group says the offer is considerably above the annual inflation rate in Namibia (bout 5,5 per cent).Hengari charged that union officials had called off Friday’s meeting because the company had failed to honour an agreement to involve the union’s negotiation team.”This irresponsible behaviour by the company has forced the union officials not to attend the said meeting, therefore, this irresponsible remark should be rejected with contempt it deserves,” he said.Arran has said that the company remained willing to negotiate.Hengari has claimed that the company had done little to improve the living conditions of its employees in Namibia, compared to the situation at its operations in South Africa.He also took a swipe at the Chamber of Mines, claiming it too “did little, if anything,” to promote sound labour relations and had failed dismally in advising its members to treat their workers with respect.Hengari said nothing had come of the MUN’s previous calls on the company to treat its Rosh Pinah workers the same as their South African counterparts.In the same breath, Hengari said another meeting between MUN and the mine management was scheduled at Rosh Pinah today to try and resolve a labour dispute which has brought the mine to a halt.Workers and management are at odds over wage increases.Also yesterday, MUN denied that it had cancelled wage negotiations scheduled for last Friday in Windhoek.Earlier this week, the Kumba mining group’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations, Trevor Arran, told The Namibian that the union had called off the meeting at the eleventh hour.MUN’s Hengari said that the planned meeting was not to negotiate wage demands, but to update union officials on the current state of affairs at the Rosh Pinah zinc mine in the South.Workers at the Rosh Pinah mine went on strike a week ago, demanding a wage increase of between 12 and 14 per cent.The Kumba Group offered a nine per cent increase for workers in lower grades and eight per cent for the other grades.The group says the offer is considerably above the annual inflation rate in Namibia (bout 5,5 per cent).Hengari charged that union officials had called off Friday’s meeting because the company had failed to honour an agreement to involve the union’s negotiation team.”This irresponsible behaviour by the company has forced the union officials not to attend the said meeting, therefore, this irresponsible remark should be rejected with contempt it deserves,” he said.Arran has said that the company remained willing to negotiate.Hengari has claimed that the company had done little to improve the living conditions of its employees in Namibia, compared to the situation at its operations in South Africa.He also took a swipe at the Chamber of Mines, claiming it too “did little, if anything,” to promote sound labour relations and had failed dismally in advising its members to treat their workers with respect.Hengari said nothing had come of the MUN’s previous calls on the company to treat its Rosh Pinah workers the same as their South African counterparts.