Telecom Namibia lays off 163 workers

OVER 160 Telecom Namibia employees are set to part ways with the telecommunications utility at the end of the month as the parastatal’s retrenchment exercise gathers momentum.

The process started in May and 163 workers have opted for voluntary retrenchment. It is understood that 221 workers applied for voluntary retrenchment, but 58 applications were turned down.The exercise has reduced Telecom’s staff complement from 1 406 to 1 243.Oiva Angula, a public relations manager with Telecom Namibia, said the downscaling was spread across all departments.He could not say, however, how much the exercise was costing Telecom.”The separation programme targeted all categories of Telecom Namibia employees on a voluntary basis with no single worker forced to take the package.”At the same time, the company reserved the right to approve or disqualify applications,” said Angula.Telecom said the aim of the retrenchment was not only to reduce employee numbers but also to provide scope for the re-alignment of skills to fast-changing technology.It said studies had confirmed that Telecom employees’ skills did not match the requirements of the rapidly changing telecommunications industry.They also showed that Telecom’s labour cost was 20 per cent higher than the norm.Angula further said that Telecom was overstaffed in some departments, while critical areas such as Information Technology and marketing were understaffed.It is understood that 221 workers applied for voluntary retrenchment, but 58 applications were turned down.The exercise has reduced Telecom’s staff complement from 1 406 to 1 243.Oiva Angula, a public relations manager with Telecom Namibia, said the downscaling was spread across all departments.He could not say, however, how much the exercise was costing Telecom.”The separation programme targeted all categories of Telecom Namibia employees on a voluntary basis with no single worker forced to take the package.”At the same time, the company reserved the right to approve or disqualify applications,” said Angula.Telecom said the aim of the retrenchment was not only to reduce employee numbers but also to provide scope for the re-alignment of skills to fast-changing technology.It said studies had confirmed that Telecom employees’ skills did not match the requirements of the rapidly changing telecommunications industry.They also showed that Telecom’s labour cost was 20 per cent higher than the norm.Angula further said that Telecom was overstaffed in some departments, while critical areas such as Information Technology and marketing were understaffed.