Swapo’s Gendev sends workers home without pay

Fishing company Gendev Fishing, which is partially owned by Swapo, has allegedly sent workers packing without pay.

The workers say they were told on 23 March to take their belongings and not return to work until further notice, with no clarity on when they would be paid.

They did not received their salaries, which are usually paid on the 25th of each month, by the time of going to print yesterday.

Shop steward Chris Shishoona yesterday said this leaves the employees struggling to meet their basic needs.

“We were told by Gendev management that we must leave the premises from 23 March, and take all our belongings and stay home until further notice,” he said.

“We are now sitting at home without our March salary. The acting managing director told us she does not know when we will get our salary. At this point there is no money.”

Shishoona said workers are now faced with financial hardship.

“We are in a difficult situation – we don’t have money to pay rent; no money to buy food. The situation is very tough for us Gendev employees this year,” he said.

According to him, the directive affected permanent employees and supervisors, with no formal letters issued to workers.

Shishoona said about 80 to 90 employees are affected.

The development comes after the company’s acting managing director, Ruby Rees, in January announced it was considering to retrench 489 employees due to operational challenges.

The retrenchment process was put on hold following a meeting with minister of justice and labour relations Wise Immanuel, who urged that consultations be conducted in line with the Labour Act.

Shishoona said workers remain uncertain about the status of the retrenchment process.

“We do not know how long this retrenchment will be on hold for.

We also don’t know if the company is closed now,” he said.
Gendev has cited limited fishing quotas as a key challenge.

The company received about 3 330 tonnes of horse mackerel for 2026, which the workers say is insufficient to sustain operations.

The company had requested permission to fish within the 200m isobath restricted zone, but this was not approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform.

This month’s salary delay adds to ongoing labour concerns at Gendev.

In a recent internal notice, the company’s management informed workers that salaries for March would be delayed due to operational constraints.

Efforts to obtain comment from Gendev’s board chairperson, Paulina Haindongo, and acting managing director Ruby Rees were unsuccessful by the time of going to print.

Questions sent to the fisheries ministry were not responded to.

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