Tucna threatens legal action over fishing row

The Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna) warns that it may take legal action against companies in the fishing industry if workers’ rights continue to be ignored.

Tucna president Paulus Hango told a press briefing yesterday that Gendev Fishing and other companies’ workers face poor conditions, delayed salaries and unclear agreements, despite repeated attempts to resolve these issues with management and government.
“We have now decided that maybe we should take legal actions because if the companies cannot comply with the law, what can we do?” Hango said.

“We will try to negotiate, but if the negotiations cannot solve the problem we will take them to court because every day employees are promised their salaries, but these salaries are not coming.”

Hango also criticised government officials for only meeting with management and not with union representatives.

“It is very unfair. If the union has an agreement with the company, the minister has an obligation to meet with union officials,” he said.
Workers at Gendev have reportedly been struggling with inconsistent hours and low pay for years.

“Since July 2025 when this company was allowed to catch fish in the 200m isobar, the workers’ conditions of employment have remained very poor. Workers were working short hours, sometimes not coming to work for months, and they are only paid 50% of their salary, which is unacceptable,” Hango said.

Casual workers at Nova­Nam have also raised concerns about contract terms, salaries and benefits.
“We are more than 200 casual workers from NovaNam that were sent back home last month … We are not happy with some of the contract terms.

We want health insurance, retirement plans, permanent jobs and permanent security. We need a basic salary, not no work, no pay,” says casual worker Beata Uutoni.

Safety conditions are another concern.

Lipamela Slackens of Omualu Fishing says employees risk illness due to a lack of protective clothing.

“Some people in the company now have pneumonia because of the cold as we don’t get protective clothing. We wrote a letter to management in 2024, but it did not reach the board of directors. To date the issue is still not resolved,” Slackens says.

Workers at Gendev also question the company’s handling of quota disputes and retrenchments.

“Since pre-employment contracts were implemented in 2015, even though both employees and employers agreed to the contract, the company has failed to pay the employees the salaries they signed according to the contract,” Gendev employee Willem Festus says.
By the time of publication, neither the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations nor Gendev had responded to questions sent by The Namibian.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.