Unions selling out workers: CoD

THE Congress of Democrats (CoD) yesterday accused the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) of selling out the workers.

It said the umbrella union has abandoned the workers in their hour of need and has lost vision, as it is now in the pocket of Government and the employers.The CoD’s Natji Tjirera said union leaders have been pretending to care for the workers while fighting political battles at the workers’ expense. Tjirera claimed that workers at the Otjozondu Purity Manganese mine are subjected to ‘cruel and inhumane treatment’ while NUNW President Alpheus Muheua and Secretary General Evalistus Kaaronda have distanced themselves from the Otjozondu saga.Tjirera took issue with the fact that Kaaronda and Muheua last year defended the economically crippling TransNamib strike.He said the two got workers to go on strike, not for the benefit of the workers, but that of CEO Titus Haimbili, who is an employer and not a worker. ‘Is Haimbili more a worker than the miners at Otjozondu or what?’ asked Tjirera. Tjirera further said the CoD believes that union leaders have lost the revolutionary spirit and have become a ‘bunch of capitalist puppets who think of lining their pockets at every opportunity’ while neglecting their responsibilities towards the workers.