RA managers threaten asset seizureover unpaid N$7.8 million

Some 28 Roads Authority (RA) managers have urgently applied to the Labour Court to enforce a ruling in which the state-owned company was ordered to pay them N$7.8 million.

This move would allow them to potentially seize company assets to recover the millions they are owed.
Early last month, the Office of the Labour Commissioner ordered the RA to pay the managers a collective N$7.8 million.
The RA was given until 3 February to pay the managers.

“Proof of payment must be forwarded to the Office of the Labour Commissioner in Windhoek,” part of the order stated.
The managers lodged a complaint at the labour commissioner’s office in 2019, accusing the state-owned entity of unfair labour practices regarding remuneration packages for 2014/15, which they said excluded them.

One of the managers yesterday told The Namibian they initially wanted the company to pay them N$16 million – covering a period from 2014, when disputed remuneration packages were implemented.

The manager said since the arbitration award was granted from 2019, they agreed on N$7.8 million.
“The N$7.8 million is only from 2019 to 2022, meaning it needs to be adjusted up to the 2025 salary scale.

So we are not greedy.
“Even the N$8 million that the chief executive referred to […] he did not make us that offer and we have declined.

It is not true,” the manager said.
He said the RA failed to honour the arbitration award, which was due on 3 February, with proof of payment to be provided to the Office of the Labour Commissioner.

“They have failed to do that. Neither did they engage the applicants [managers] or the applicants’ legal representative in case they encountered any kind of challenges.”

“The applicants filed an urgent application for the award to be made a court order so they can attach the assets of the RA,” the manager said.
“If they had any problems with making the payment, they should have communicated. Now we are going to attach – whether it is the assets or the bank account of the RA.

This has nothing to do with greediness, it is a matter of principle in terms of the law. It’s due process we are undertaking.”
RA chief executive Conrad Lutombi did not answer calls to his cellphone yesterday, while lawyer Dirk Conradie, who represented the RA in the matter, said the RA could have complied with the order, since it had indicated to its lawyer it would pay.

“It’s news to me that they have not complied. They could have complied. We wanted to appeal the matter, because we believed we had a strong case, but they said they were going to pay,” Conradie said.