Striking workers at snack company Howard House Manufacturing and security faced off on Monday over the removal of workers from the premises.
Employees, represented by the Namibian Revolutionary Transport and Manufacturing Union (Naretu), resolved to go on strike on Friday after months of failed wage negotiations.
The company initiated a lock-out on Friday, and allowed union representatives inside on Monday morning to conduct labour inspections.
Howard House sales and distribution director James van Rooyen has told The Namibian that union representatives tried to remove working employees from the company on Monday morning.
“The inspection was permitted and duly took place. However, during the course of the visit, union representatives subsequently attempted to remove certain Howard House employees from the workplace on the basis that they believed those employees should not be working,” Van Rooyen says.
The company did not accept the right of the union to remove workers, and, therefore, asked security to intervene, he says.
“During the resulting dispute, the union representatives were advised that they should remain on the premises while the matter was being resolved and that Howard House employees could not simply be removed from their workplace without the appropriate process and notification through the relevant labour authorities,” he says.
Van Rooyen also told The Namibian that there had been a dispute between a union representative and security on the first day of the lock-out.
“A union representative entered the company’s premises and offices without prior authorisation and proceeded to make certain demands. Security personnel subsequently intervened and the individual was removed from the premises,” Van Rooyen says.
Naretu general secretary Petersen Kambinda on Monday denied any altercation between security and the union on the first day of the strike.
The workers are on strike to demand higher wages. Workers told The Namibian that they earn N$3 100 for 22 days of work per month, with no additional benefits or bonuses. The workers asked for a raise of N$4 500 and were offered a raise of N$120, according to the union.
Howard House declined to comment on the negotiations and wage specifics, saying it is engaging with the union and the labour commissioner to resolve the dispute.
However, Van Rooyen says workers are paid the “applicable prescribed minimum wage” and “statutory employment benefits”.
“The employees affected by the lock-out occupy unskilled positions and, in a number of instances, entered the company’s employment without previous work experience. Howard House, therefore, does not believe that referring only to an approximate monthly figure of N$3 100, without explaining the applicable hourly rate and statutory benefits, provides a complete picture of their remuneration,” he says.
Naretu, representing workers, calls the wages “nonsense” and alleges that Howard House had no right to keep shop stewards on the premises after the labour inspection.
“When the shop stewards went for inspection, [the security] said they wouldn’t open the gate. They were locked in for two hours,” Kambinda told The Namibian on Monday.
He said two workers found in the warehouse on Monday morning were not approved casual labourers and, therefore, were not allowed to work. He denied physically removing workers but said the union had a right to demand those workers leave.
