NUNW not behind ‘shopping boycott’

THE National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) says it is not planning a national shopping boycott today, nor are its member unions organising it.

An e-mail has been doing the rounds calling for a national no-shopping day today and warning people that union leaders “will be out in full force and will be aggressive towards anyone” going into shopping centres. The e-mail originated in South Africa and ended up in Namibia through employees of multinational companies who have sent each other the message.It said union leaders were up in arms over the rising cost of food and fuel.The NUNW said they had no connection to the e-mail because they were aware of Government’s efforts to alleviate the situation in Namibia.They said the situation was brought about by external factors and Government had acted promptly by exempting certain foodstuffs from value-added tax (VAT) to alleviate the situation.”We call on our members and the general public out there to stay calm and not to pay any attention to this e-mail.We do not deal with issues like that.We have structures and procedures in place,” the union’s acting Deputy Secretary General, Moses Shikkwa, told a media briefing on Friday.”We are aware that similar actions (demonstrations and boycotts) had been taken by workers and other members of society in various countries across the globe.We are not excluding the fact that we may resort to similar actions but as it stands now, we are happy with what the Government has done and is doing,” he said.The e-mail originated in South Africa and ended up in Namibia through employees of multinational companies who have sent each other the message.It said union leaders were up in arms over the rising cost of food and fuel. The NUNW said they had no connection to the e-mail because they were aware of Government’s efforts to alleviate the situation in Namibia.They said the situation was brought about by external factors and Government had acted promptly by exempting certain foodstuffs from value-added tax (VAT) to alleviate the situation.”We call on our members and the general public out there to stay calm and not to pay any attention to this e-mail.We do not deal with issues like that.We have structures and procedures in place,” the union’s acting Deputy Secretary General, Moses Shikkwa, told a media briefing on Friday.”We are aware that similar actions (demonstrations and boycotts) had been taken by workers and other members of society in various countries across the globe.We are not excluding the fact that we may resort to similar actions but as it stands now, we are happy with what the Government has done and is doing,” he said.