Ramatex vote ‘is on’

RAMATEX workers are set to vote on Friday on whether to go on strike or not, communication between the Malaysian textile factory and the Namibian Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Nafau) reveals.

In a letter, Nafau General Secretary Kiros Sacharias confronts Ramatex General Manager BK Ong on allegations that Ong on Tuesday, in the presence of a shop steward, told Sacharias that Ramatex was no longer interested in negotiations and would shut the factory. He is claimed to have said Ramatex would close its Windhoek factory after advising the Office of the Prime Minister of this decision.Ong apparently said this when he cancelled a meeting on wage negotiations between the company management and Nafau after the union arrived 20 minutes late.Nafau took this as a sign of a lack of concern on the company’s part for its workers, and called workers at the factory together to inform them of the company’s apparent plans to quit their operation in Namibia.In the letter addressed to Ong, which The Namibian has seen, Ong is informed of the meeting held with workers, and is further notified that workers would vote on Friday whether or not to take industrial action.”The conciliation board could not resolve the dispute, hence in our understanding all procedures have been exhausted fully.What is going to happen is that the union will have to hold a ballot to determine how many workers are in favour of industrial action and (how many) against,” the union letter states.Voting will take place at the textile factory, and Ramatex has been informed to choose its observers for the process.Should the majority of Nafau’s members vote in favour of a strike, Ramatex would have to be notified in terms of the recognition agreement between the two.Although Ong could not be reached for comment yesterday, The Namibian was able to obtain a copy of a letter written early yesterday to the union, in which he maintained that the company was not prepared to go higher than a 15-cents-per-hour increase for factory workers.Nafau has called for an average increase of N$3 to N$4 per hour.”The company offers an increase of 15 cents per hour.The company offered to renegotiate an increase during October this year should the productivity level of the employees [have] increased by 70 per cent.This increase in productivity has unfortunately not happened [as] you are well aware.The company would however be prepared to revisit the situation in six months’ time should productivity increase significantly,” Ong’s letter states.The union in reply criticised Ramatex for exploiting Namibian people while maximising its own profits, exposing workers to health risks by not providing protective equipment, and failing to transfer skills to local workers.”Can Ramatex be honest and tell the nation …how many Namibians they have trained and to what extent? Can Ramatex be honest and tell the nation why foreign workers have received increases and not our local workers?” Nafau wrote.He is claimed to have said Ramatex would close its Windhoek factory after advising the Office of the Prime Minister of this decision.Ong apparently said this when he cancelled a meeting on wage negotiations between the company management and Nafau after the union arrived 20 minutes late.Nafau took this as a sign of a lack of concern on the company’s part for its workers, and called workers at the factory together to inform them of the company’s apparent plans to quit their operation in Namibia.In the letter addressed to Ong, which The Namibian has seen, Ong is informed of the meeting held with workers, and is further notified that workers would vote on Friday whether or not to take industrial action.”The conciliation board could not resolve the dispute, hence in our understanding all procedures have been exhausted fully.What is going to happen is that the union will have to hold a ballot to determine how many workers are in favour of industrial action and (how many) against,” the union letter states.Voting will take place at the textile factory, and Ramatex has been informed to choose its observers for the process.Should the majority of Nafau’s members vote in favour of a strike, Ramatex would have to be notified in terms of the recognition agreement between the two. Although Ong could not be reached for comment yesterday, The Namibian was able to obtain a copy of a letter written early yesterday to the union, in which he maintained that the company was not prepared to go higher than a 15-cents-per-hour increase for factory workers.Nafau has called for an average increase of N$3 to N$4 per hour.”The company offers an increase of 15 cents per hour.The company offered to renegotiate an increase during October this year should the productivity level of the employees [have] increased by 70 per cent.This increase in productivity has unfortunately not happened [as] you are well aware.The company would however be prepared to revisit the situation in six months’ time should productivity increase significantly,” Ong’s letter states.The union in reply criticised Ramatex for exploiting Namibian people while maximising its own profits, exposing workers to health risks by not providing protective equipment, and failing to transfer skills to local workers.”Can Ramatex be honest and tell the nation …how many Namibians they have trained and to what extent? Can Ramatex be honest and tell the nation why foreign workers have received increases and not our local workers?” Nafau wrote.