Taking Us For A Ride

THE recent political wrangling in the mother body of most unions in the country leaves much to be desired.

While union leaders are busy fighting for positions and spending membership fees of the members on irrelevant court cases, their members continue to sink in the pool of poverty. Most union members do not understand the politics of negotiations that recently took place and to whose benefit such negotiations were.The recent negotiations were done in favour of the management cadre in Government.To make it worse, a commission has been launched to look into the salaries of political office bearers.As the saying goes, the elite are in charge and are milking the system to line their stomachs.When is the low-paid public servant going to receive a decent salary increase in line with the inflation rate of the moment? The so-called 5% salary increase will be implemented during 2008 and will certainly not be in line with the inflation rate at that point in time.How many public servants will be in a position to purchase property without having received a proper increase during the current financial year? It is quite evident that the current leadership of Napwu is not serious insofar as representing the interests of workers is concerned.Again, the transport allowance being mentioned is pathetic.Come 2007, the taxi fare, for example, of a public servant living in Windhoek will have increased to plus/minus N$7 for a one-way trip from the city centre to Katutura.In fact, negotiations are already underway to increase taxi fares from the current N$5,50.Here, they are offering N$9 and N$ 10 respectively for the two categories they have identified.How did they determine this without looking at what the rate of inflation will be during that time? Most of the public servants did not understand what was presented and are of the opinion that the increase will be affected at the end of this month (April 2006).This will, however, be to the disappointment of most of the public servants, who themselves are being taken for a ride by the selfish union leaders, who instead are using their cause to get to Parliament where they can benefit even more.It is time that public servants wake up and take these union leaders to task.Unhappy Unionist Via e-mailMost union members do not understand the politics of negotiations that recently took place and to whose benefit such negotiations were.The recent negotiations were done in favour of the management cadre in Government.To make it worse, a commission has been launched to look into the salaries of political office bearers.As the saying goes, the elite are in charge and are milking the system to line their stomachs.When is the low-paid public servant going to receive a decent salary increase in line with the inflation rate of the moment? The so-called 5% salary increase will be implemented during 2008 and will certainly not be in line with the inflation rate at that point in time.How many public servants will be in a position to purchase property without having received a proper increase during the current financial year? It is quite evident that the current leadership of Napwu is not serious insofar as representing the interests of workers is concerned.Again, the transport allowance being mentioned is pathetic.Come 2007, the taxi fare, for example, of a public servant living in Windhoek will have increased to plus/minus N$7 for a one-way trip from the city centre to Katutura.In fact, negotiations are already underway to increase taxi fares from the current N$5,50.Here, they are offering N$9 and N$ 10 respectively for the two categories they have identified.How did they determine this without looking at what the rate of inflation will be during that time? Most of the public servants did not understand what was presented and are of the opinion that the increase will be affected at the end of this month (April 2006).This will, however, be to the disappointment of most of the public servants, who themselves are being taken for a ride by the selfish union leaders, who instead are using their cause to get to Parliament where they can benefit even more.It is time that public servants wake up and take these union leaders to task. Unhappy Unionist Via e-mail