Pescanova stand-off settled

KEETMANSHOOP – The Namibian Seamen and Allied Workers’ Union (Nasawu) and the Pescanova fishing company at Luderitz have reached a settlement after a pay dispute between workers and the company.

About 1 000 Pescanova workers demonstrated at the southern coastal town on Friday and Saturday claiming that the company did not want to pay them for days for which they were entitled to be remunerated. The president of Nasawu, Hango Paulus told Nampa in an interview yesterday that Pescanova agreed to pay the workers for the days in dispute.Paulus said that Pescanova initially refused to pay workers for two working days on which the company was closed.The union leader noted that according to an agreement between the company and the union workers should be given seven hours’ pay for normal working days on which the former is not in operation.The same applies when employees work short-shift.The company also allegedly wanted to remunerate employees’ normal working day’s pay for having worked on Cassinga Day, which is a public holiday.According to the Namibian labour laws an employee should be paid double of an hour’s work on Sundays and public holidays.-NampaThe president of Nasawu, Hango Paulus told Nampa in an interview yesterday that Pescanova agreed to pay the workers for the days in dispute.Paulus said that Pescanova initially refused to pay workers for two working days on which the company was closed.The union leader noted that according to an agreement between the company and the union workers should be given seven hours’ pay for normal working days on which the former is not in operation.The same applies when employees work short-shift.The company also allegedly wanted to remunerate employees’ normal working day’s pay for having worked on Cassinga Day, which is a public holiday.According to the Namibian labour laws an employee should be paid double of an hour’s work on Sundays and public holidays.-Nampa