NUNW says Kaaronda should’ve appealed

THE National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) says its fired secretary general, Evilastus Kaaronda, has not exhausted the federation’s internal procedures by not appealing against his dismissal.

As a result, he should not have approached the Office of the Labour Commissioner for conciliation and arbitration.But, the NUNW itself did not follow proper internal procedures by not subjecting Kaaronda to a disciplinary hearing before sacking him, Clive Kavendjii, his lawyer, says.The arbitrator, Moses Inane, postponed the matter for a few days in order to make a ruling on the internal remedies matter.The arbitration and conciliation meeting’s first round took place on Friday.Earlier, Kavendjii said that Kaaronda was considering approaching the Supreme Court to have his dismissal overturned.Acting Judge Petrus Unengu earlier dismissed an urgent application by Kaaronda to be reinstated.Kavendjii said they were very disappointed with the High Court ruling.He said they were eagerly awaiting Acting Judge Unengu’s reasons for striking the matter from the roll.Kaaronda had appealed to the High Court for an urgent order to have him reinstated so that he could attend the past weekend’s Swapo congress as part of the NUNW delegation.According to Kaaronda, the main reason why he was fired is because he is outspoken about the millions missing at the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF).