Ramatex strike vote continues

WORKERS at the Ramatex textile factory are to continue voting today on whether or not to take industrial action after relations between the Namibian Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Nafau) and the company management soured last week due to the cancellation of a wage negotiation meeting.

Sources indicated over the weekend that only around 400 employees managed to cast their votes on Friday, with about 4 000 more yet to declare their position on downing tools in protest against poor working conditions and the company’s refusal to meet wage demands. Ramatex hasn’t offered its workers a wage increase since its inception in 2001, and in a letter sent to Nafau on Wednesday, the company maintained that it was prepared to offer an increase of 15 cents per hour.The average Namibian Ramatex employee earns about N$500 a month.Nafau has called for an average increase of between N$3 and N$4 per hour.Neither Nafau General Secretary Kiros Sacharias nor Ramatex General Manager BK Ong could be reached for comment over the weekend.However, sources involved in the negotiations told The Namibian that only a fraction of the voters managed to vote on Friday because of complications caused by shift work.One shop steward claimed that management was trying to delay the process.Nafau’s move towards industrial action started on Wednesday, when Ramatex cancelled a wage negotiation meeting with the union after the latter turned up 20 minutes late.The union charged that Ramatex had used their late arrival as an excuse to wiggle out of negotiations, and said that this was a clear indication that the company had no serious intention to negotiate on increased wages for its employees.Following the failed meeting with management, Nafau representatives addressed workers at the factory on the cancelled meeting, further charging that the General Manager had threatened that the factory would soon be closed.Ramatex hasn’t offered its workers a wage increase since its inception in 2001, and in a letter sent to Nafau on Wednesday, the company maintained that it was prepared to offer an increase of 15 cents per hour.The average Namibian Ramatex employee earns about N$500 a month.Nafau has called for an average increase of between N$3 and N$4 per hour.Neither Nafau General Secretary Kiros Sacharias nor Ramatex General Manager BK Ong could be reached for comment over the weekend.However, sources involved in the negotiations told The Namibian that only a fraction of the voters managed to vote on Friday because of complications caused by shift work.One shop steward claimed that management was trying to delay the process.Nafau’s move towards industrial action started on Wednesday, when Ramatex cancelled a wage negotiation meeting with the union after the latter turned up 20 minutes late.The union charged that Ramatex had used their late arrival as an excuse to wiggle out of negotiations, and said that this was a clear indication that the company had no serious intention to negotiate on increased wages for its employees.Following the failed meeting with management, Nafau representatives addressed workers at the factory on the cancelled meeting, further charging that the General Manager had threatened that the factory would soon be closed.