A SOUTH African man and his family are stranded in Namibia after losing their jobs with a transport company.
Jesus Alberto Berrios and his son Ivan Camilo Berrios said Morne du Plessis’ Xtreme Transport Close Corporation terminated their contracts three months after they had started work.
The father and son were employed as special custom sheet and metal fabricators respectively.
The Berrioses were also expected to train local artisans at the company.
Berrios said the company terminated their contracts after they asked for their outstanding July and August salaries. The Berrios’ said they had not been paid since they started working for the company, and that their visas and work permits expired last month.
Berrios senior said he was only given N$200 for petrol, and another N$200 for food at the time he started working for the company.
He also said the company promised to pay expenses, including travel and accommodation.
Also, Berrios said, the employers promised to secure permanent residence permits for his family.
The company moved all his belongings from South Africa to Namibia because of the residence promise, he said.
“We have never received the promised accommodation, travel allowances nor our wages up to now. How can they take us from our country and just dump us here like that? We have rights too,” said Berrios.
They also claim that some of their furniture was locked up in Du Plessis’ workplace, and he has refused to release it. The family is currently staying in a room they were given by a Good Samaritan.
“We have no means of seeing to our personal needs until this matter has been resolved.
“We do not have any money to either renew our expired work permits or return our belongings to South Africa. We are now staying illegally here in Namibia,” said Berrios.
A communique addressed to the home affair ministry by the company’s managing director, Morne du Plessis, said the contracts were terminated because of the current economic difficulties.
Du Plessis could not be reached for comment.
Labour commissioner Henri Kassen confirmed to The Namibian on Monday that there was a case opened against the company for the non-payment of salaries.
“A case against Xtreme Transport was registered and heard in July 2017, but it is still pending,” said Kassen.
The family said they approached the South African high commission to Namibia, and spoke to deputy head of mission Eli Bitzer.
But she [Bitzer] only told them that she was going to communicate with Du Plessis to “uphold the terms of the contracts” and pay their salaries.
The South African high commissioner to Namibia Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini, yesterday said the embassy does not deal with cases of individual employment, and advised the family to rather seek legal assistance.
Bitzer could not be reached for comments yesterday.
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