The Namibian Revolutionary Transport and Manufacturing Union celebrated its fifth anniversary on Saturday, providing free labour consultations, health and wellness services, and financial literacy education to its members.
The union said it wanted to celebrate the milestone by giving back to the workers it represents.
“Our fifth anniversary is not just a celebration of how far we have come, but a celebration of the workers who have built this union,” Naretu general secretary Petersen Kambinda said before the event.
The union invited partners to provide information on healthcare, finances and road safety.
Several medical funds attended the event to provide information on medical aid options. Nurses from Khomas Medical Centre provided basic health screening, and the Namibia Blood Transfusion Service provided free blood group tests to allow workers to learn their blood groups and raise awareness of voluntary blood donation.
Workers also received financial literacy presentations from Old Mutual Namibia and road safety awareness information from the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund.
The Automobile Association of Namibia gave away 15 vouchers for its defence driving course.
Kambinda said the anniversary was a time to reflect on the suffering of workers and the work that still needs to be done to support them.
He said he formed Naretu during the Covid-19 pandemic, after he had been retrenched from a mine.
“I received a call from a truck driver who said [they] are suffering. [He] wanted us to form a union to help them; I refused,” he said.
“But then there was a truck driver, his name is Tate Fillemon. He went to South Africa during Covid and he contracted Covid. Unfortunately, he passed away. When he passed away in South Africa, the owner of the truck sent another driver to pick up his truck,” he said.
The company allegedly did not help bring back the body of the worker, which was Kambinda’s “turning point” to start a union.
“Our people have suffered enough,” Kambinda told attendees.
