Revenue officials protest failed pay talks

WORKERS of the Ministry of Finance’s Customs and Inland Revenue departments yesterday held a lunchtime demonstration, following failed pay increase talks that have been dragging on for about seven years.

In a petition addressed to Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the workers said that because the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu), the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry management itself had failed to address multiple requests for salary re-grades, the group had resorted to a demonstration.’The Salary Re-grading Committee (the Customs and Taxation officials) had no other option than to resort to a peaceful demonstration, that might result in further action should our demands fail to be met within the specified time period given,’ the petition read.The workers complained that their proposed re-grading process had ‘started way back in 2002’ with follow-ups in 2006 through to 2009, but that little had been done to address their requests since.’Based on this information, the Salary Re-grading Committee agreed to go ahead with the planned demonstration as we feel that we are being sidelined by both the union and management,’ they said.Representatives from Napwu were not present at the demonstration, and Napwu Deputy Secretary General Gabes Andumba has said the union was unaware of the march.He said however that Government and the union ‘have already engaged’ on the matter, and that once a decision is reached, this will be announced publicly.He said he could not forecast when a consensus might be reached on the re-grading issue.PRIORITIESIn their petition, the workers also accused the Ministry – and Government in general – of misplaced priorities, saying that financial resources would be put to better use by giving them a re-grading.’Nearly every year, the Government is bailing out its State-Owned Enterprises, e.g. Air Namibia, Trans Namib, etc, who operate on losses and who (managers and staff) are earning more than us who collect the money which is used to bail them out. We, the officers who collect most of this revenue, feel that we are being neglected deliberately,’ they said.’If the Ministry can afford to purchase scanners that cost N$550 million dollars which are not a revenue base but trade facilitation base and function the same way as sniffer dogs are functioning, this means Taxation and Customs & Excise officers who normally put some effort in collecting revenue for the state can also be re-graded.’The Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Erica Shafuda, received the petition on behalf of the Minister.The workers have given the Ministry until the end of next week to respond to the petition.nangula@namibian.com.na