Unions bemoan low wages in diamond-cutting industry

A recent study by the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) has unearhed a plethora of challenges in the diamond-cutting industry in Namibia, such as low wages, inadequate employment benefits, and the large presence of unskilled expatriates.

The report was presented to the minister of labour, industrial relations, and employment creation, Utoni Nujoma, by the union’s leadership last week.

MUN president Ismael Kasuto said the purpose of the report is to highlight the exploitation of workers and non-compliance with the Affirmative Action Act and the Immigration Act.

“Some of the practices are quite worrying with pathetic benefits, such as N$100 for housing. Some of the companies have close to 30% of the total expatriate workforce, which is quite a lot, and then they don’t have to pay that exception for them to be there,” he said.

Kasuto said the union has also learned that labour inspectors have not visited the diamond-cutting and polishing factories for over three years.

He said the union expects the minister to come up with strategies on joining forces to address the challenges workers face.

According to the report, the highest-paid employee earns N$14 700, while an entry-level salary starts with N$1 500.

The MUN says the low wages have created barriers to accessing essential services such as healthcare and education, perpetuating a cycle of financial hardship for employees and their families.

Additionally, this wage disparity has had a detrimental impact on employee motivation and productivity, thereby hampering the industry’s overall competitiveness, reads the report.

The union has recommended an in-depth analysis of industry salary benchmarks to be conducted to ensure employee wages align with the national average sustainable living wage.

The union also recommended that industry stakeholders adopt a fair compensation structure whichaccurately reflects the skill level and productivity of workers.

The report also outlines the impact of an abundance of unskilled expatriates without specialised skills.

According to the report, there are currently 256 expatriate workers and 628 locals.

This means approximately 41,50% of the workforce comprises foreign nationals.

The MUN says the large presence of expatriates threatens the job market and limits employment opportunities for local workers.

The union says there is a need to implement stringent work permit policies to prioritise skills scarcity and for the establishment of programmes facilitating knowledge exchange between expatriates and Namibian workers.

The MUN has further called for urgent intervention by the ministry to ensure better wages, improved employment benefits, and the appropriate utilisation of expatriate workers. Nujoma yesterday acknowledged the report, saying the ministry is currently studying the matters raised.

“In the meantime, we will send labour inspectors to the different companies to do further inspection,” he said