Ongombo workers re-instated

THE Namibia Farm Workers Union (Nafwu) has called on the owners of Ongombo West farm to comply with a Labour Court order of last week to re-instate six workers he fired in October.

Magistrate Uaatjo Uanivi ordered Ongombo West manager Andreas Wiese to re-instate the six with immediate effect. Uanivi ruled that Wiese had failed to follow all procedures specified by the Labour Act.He had not, for example, held a disciplinary hearing.He was also ordered to pay the workers N$21 000 in outstanding salaries by 12h00 on Thursday.Nafwu General Secretary Alfred Angula told The Namibian that the workers had not received their outstanding payments by Friday afternoon.According to Angula, Wiese had changed their conditions of employment – contrary to the judgement.He said the employees were no longer allowed to keep animals on the farm, “not even a dog to protect their belongings” and had not received an annual salary increase.”Worst of all, four of them will have to stay in one house,” Angula bemoaned.He said the change of working conditions boiled down to intimidation and violated the court order.The Wieses declined to talk to the media on Friday.Cornelia Rooinasie, Elias //Hoeb, Immanuel //Hoebeb, Wilfred //Hoebeb, Erik !Ganeb and Ben !Ganeb were fired after they deserted the workplace without permission.Wiese claimed that the workers also threatened him with a knife.The Wiese family gave the workers until the end of October to leave the premises.After waiting two-and-a-half months, they obtained a court order to evict the six.Rooinasie and //Hoeb said they were happy with the court ruling but said that their relationship with their employer had been severely damaged and would take a long time to repair.Angula said they would give the Wieses a few more days to deal with the court ruling before they took up the issue of payment and changed working conditions.He expressed the hope that the outcome of the case would send a clear warning to those who arbitrarily dismissed employees.The farmworkers were represented by Raymond Heathcote.Holger Sircoulomb acted on behalf of the Wiese family.The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) said although Wiese was under the impression that he had followed all the right procedures as stipulated by the Labour Act, he had failed to comply with a technical point which was crucial to the rules of fair dismissal.”In the light of this incident, the importance of following correct procedures during a disciplinary action cannot be over-emphasised. It doesn’t matter how unimportant or impractical a procedure seems – it must be followed,” NAU said on their website.Uanivi ruled that Wiese had failed to follow all procedures specified by the Labour Act. He had not, for example, held a disciplinary hearing. He was also ordered to pay the workers N$21 000 in outstanding salaries by 12h00 on Thursday. Nafwu General Secretary Alfred Angula told The Namibian that the workers had not received their outstanding payments by Friday afternoon. According to Angula, Wiese had changed their conditions of employment – contrary to the judgement. He said the employees were no longer allowed to keep animals on the farm, “not even a dog to protect their belongings” and had not received an annual salary increase. “Worst of all, four of them will have to stay in one house,” Angula bemoaned. He said the change of working conditions boiled down to intimidation and violated the court order. The Wieses declined to talk to the media on Friday. Cornelia Rooinasie, Elias //Hoeb, Immanuel //Hoebeb, Wilfred //Hoebeb, Erik !Ganeb and Ben !Ganeb were fired after they deserted the workplace without permission. Wiese claimed that the workers also threatened him with a knife. The Wiese family gave the workers until the end of October to leave the premises. After waiting two-and-a-half months, they obtained a court order to evict the six. Rooinasie and //Hoeb said they were happy with the court ruling but said that their relationship with their employer had been severely damaged and would take a long time to repair. Angula said they would give the Wieses a few more days to deal with the court ruling before they took up the issue of payment and changed working conditions. He expressed the hope that the outcome of the case would send a clear warning to those who arbitrarily dismissed employees. The farmworkers were represented by Raymond Heathcote. Holger Sircoulomb acted on behalf of the Wiese family. The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) said although Wiese was under the impression that he had followed all the right procedures as stipulated by the Labour Act, he had failed to comply with a technical point which was crucial to the rules of fair dismissal. “In the light of this incident, the importance of following correct procedures during a disciplinary action cannot be over-emphasised. It doesn’t matter how unimportant or impractical a procedure seems – it must be followed,” NAU said on their website.