Nandi-Ndaitwah not impressed with contract employment at Namdeb

Vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has questioned the management of Namdeb why the diamond mining giant has 171 employees on fixed term contracts and not all employees as permanent employees.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namdeb is mining a critical natural resource, one that belongs to all Namibians, and that there is a need to provide job security to employees, saying it adds to the peace and stability of the country.

She made the remarks on Monday at Oranjemund in the ||Kharas region during her familiarisation visit to Namdeb. Nandi-Ndaitwah is on a familiarisation visit to the Hardap and ||Kharas regions, during which she visited the Roots Agriculture Project at Stampriet, officiated at the 13th |Hai-|Haua traditional festival and paid a visit to the family of the late Ida Jimmy !Ha-Airos, who was conferred a hero’s burial last week.

During his presentation to the vice president’s delegation, the chief executive officer of Namdeb, Riaan Burger, said the company employs 1 684 permanent employees and about 171 on fixed-term contracts.

Responding to the vice president, Burger tried to soften the circumstances by stating that contract employees receive equal benefits as those who are permanently employed.

“So they have all the benefits, but not job security. Job security is important for the peace and stability of the country,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Burger, however, maintained that most of those who are on fixed-term contracts get absorbed into permanent jobs, but could not say how many have gone beyond the 18 to 24 months and been confirmed as permanent employees.