Union, Marco Fishing clash over fate of workers

THE Namibia Seamen and Allied Workers’ Union (Nasawu) has accused the Luederitz-based fishing company Marco Fishing of violating the employment rights of about 30 land-based personnel who will be affected by its planned streamlining process.

Marco Fishing earlier this month notified employees of its intended restructuring of operations and jobs. The company’s Managing Director, Abraham Louw, said the restructuring would lead to unavoidable retrenchments.It was necessitated by the financial losses the company had suffered over the past three years due to poor hake catches and escalating costs, he said.Thirty of the company’s 300 workers will be affected by the process.Louw said the positions of some fish processors and harbour crew would be declared redundant.New positions would be created but might be on lower pay grades.The President of Nasawu, Hango Paulus, accused the company of not consulting the union about the process or holding a meeting to explain the restructuring exercise.Paulus said the company’s action was not only a violation of the Recognition and Procedural Agreement, but also the conditions of employment agreed upon between the company and the union.He claimed that Marco Fishing was abusing sections of the Labour Act in the name of restructuring and warned that Nasawu would do all in its power to discourage the company from continuing with the process.Louw told The Namibian that his company had given the union until Monday this week to negotiate the retrenchment conditions, but no union or staff representatives turned up for the meeting.”To date, no employee has attempted to either inform the company as to whether they will accept re-employment or alternatively choose retrenchment.Neither has any employee or the union attempted to enter into negotiations as we invited in our notice we sent out in the beginning of the month,” he said.Therefore, the company had extended the final date for negotiations to next Monday, June 4.The layoffs were initially scheduled for June 8.”The initial termination date has also become redundant, and I cannot comment on to when we will set this date in the future.Also, I don’t really know what we will do if Nasawu does not come forward on the new date we have set for negotiations,” Louw said.”We have to be realistic and accept the fact that poor catches will force us to make adjustments,” he said.The company’s Managing Director, Abraham Louw, said the restructuring would lead to unavoidable retrenchments.It was necessitated by the financial losses the company had suffered over the past three years due to poor hake catches and escalating costs, he said.Thirty of the company’s 300 workers will be affected by the process.Louw said the positions of some fish processors and harbour crew would be declared redundant.New positions would be created but might be on lower pay grades.The President of Nasawu, Hango Paulus, accused the company of not consulting the union about the process or holding a meeting to explain the restructuring exercise.Paulus said the company’s action was not only a violation of the Recognition and Procedural Agreement, but also the conditions of employment agreed upon between the company and the union.He claimed that Marco Fishing was abusing sections of the Labour Act in the name of restructuring and warned that Nasawu would do all in its power to discourage the company from continuing with the process.Louw told The Namibian that his company had given the union until Monday this week to negotiate the retrenchment conditions, but no union or staff representatives turned up for the meeting.”To date, no employee has attempted to either inform the company as to whether they will accept re-employment or alternatively choose retrenchment.Neither has any employee or the union attempted to enter into negotiations as we invited in our notice we sent out in the beginning of the month,” he said.Therefore, the company had extended the final date for negotiations to next Monday, June 4.The layoffs were initially scheduled for June 8.”The initial termination date has also become redundant, and I cannot comment on to when we will set this date in the future.Also, I don’t really know what we will do if Nasawu does not come forward on the new date we have set for negotiations,” Louw said.”We have to be realistic and accept the fact that poor catches will force us to make adjustments,” he said.