Namibia - 2012

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Population: 2,280,000
Capital: Windhoek
A diamond corporation reneged on a pay agreement then interfered in union affairs by claiming it could not ballot all its members over strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action. Striking mineworkers were sacked and a Chinese construction company tried to sack over 400 strikers protesting its violation of the wage agreement but the government stepped in.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Background

Poverty and inequality remain high in Namibia. Over 50% of the population is unemployed despite the country’s healthy economic performance. The upper 20% of the population lives on 78.7% of the country’s total annual income, while the bottom 20% lives on a mere 1.4%. In February, the High Court dismissed a legal challenge by nine opposition parties claiming irregularities in the 2009 parliamentary election.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 2,280,000
Capital: Windhoek

reported violations- 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

Problems remain in the labour legislation despite recent improvements. The Constitution and the 2007 Labour Act guarantee freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework , but exclude prison staff. In addition, the Labour Commissioner may cancel the registration of a trade union if it fails to comply with its legal obligations, although the decision may be appealed in court.

Furthermore, the right to bargain collectively is recognised for registered trade unions that represent the majority of the employees in a bargaining unit bargaining unit A group of workers within a particular company, establishment, industry or occupation that constitutes an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.

See bargaining agent
. Finally, the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is limited, as strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action can only be initiated in disputes that involve specific workers’ interests, such as pay rises. Strikes are also subject to a long conciliation conciliation An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.

See arbitration, mediation procedure. Disputes over workers’ rights, including dismissals, must be referred to the Labour Court for arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation , and the dispute solving mechanisms are long and cumbersome.

Additional information regarding the legislation
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 2,280,000
Capital: Windhoek

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Employer hostility: Employers have a history of being generally very hostile towards the unions, refusing to recognise them or let them carry out their activities in workplaces, or to engage in collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
with them. This tendency has been particularly prevalent in the export processing zones (EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. ). The categories most vulnerable to trade union rights’ violations are farm and domestic workers.
Workers concerned for their rights: Unions and workers have workers expressed strong concerns about Chinese construction companies who regularly ignored workers’ rights and the country’s labour laws. One example during the year was that of New Era Investments (see 2012 Trade union rights violations). Between 60% and 70% of construction tenders are awarded to Chinese companies.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 2,280,000
Capital: Windhoek

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Violations

Chinese construction firm violates wage agreement then sacks 418 strikers: Chinese building contractor New Era Investments failed to implement a wage agreement signed on 28 March with the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU) regarding the Labour Act, minimum wages and industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. . Under the agreement, the building contractor pledged to adhere to the terms of the Act and pay its workers the minimum wage, subject to productivity levels. However, the company did not pay the minimum wage, leading to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action in July. New Era filed and was granted an urgent application with the Labour Court to have the work stoppage declared illegal and to order its employees back to work. The company then proceeded to dismiss all 418 employees who had taken part in the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . Finally, the Labour Deputy Minister stepped in and instructed New Era Investment to stop the dismissals. Thanks to his intervention and further negotiations New Era Investment agreed in mid-August to pay its employees according to the minimum wage agreement.
Interference in trade union affairs in the diamond industry: The Namdeb Diamond corporation interfered in the affairs of the Mineworkers’ Union of Namibia (MUN) when it told the union it could not ballot all 1,600 workers on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action over a case involving 125 of them. The dispute concerned the withdrawal of housing allowance from the 125 when they were transferred to a new site, contrary to a 2009 agreement between Namdeb and the MUN. The strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike went ahead on 16 August and lasted six days. On 20 August, the company locked out all striking employees and announced it would be launching a civil action against them, demanding compensation for losses incurred during the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, stepped in as the dispute became increasingly bitter and helped negotiate an agreement, signed on 15 September, and made into a court order. Under the agreement, the housing allowances were restored to the 125 transferred workers and there was a guarantee that there would be no regressions on the 2009 Work Conditions Agreement. A tripartite reconciliation commission was set up to deal with many other outstanding issues, including health and safety concerns.
Gold mine fires 67 workers after strike: A total of 67 employees contracted to the Navachab Gold Mine in Karibib were fired on 2 December, while 44 were issued a final warning following an indefinite strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike over a salary dispute. More than 200 workers had decided to go on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike after salary negotiations stalled in November. The Mine Workers Union (MUN) was appealing the dismissals, which they believed to be unjustifed.
Anti-union discrimination at Shoprite retail chain: The dispute between the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU) and Shoprite Checkers continued at the beginning of the year with the company claiming that the union would not enter into negotiations on behalf of its members. The retail chain showed blatant discrimination against union members after pay negotiations broke down. It unilaterally granted a 10% pay increase (below union demands) to NAFAU members effective from 1 November 2010, while the rise for non-members was made effective from June. NAFAU had taken the matter to the labour court and the case was still on-going, although the company claimed the union had already lost its case.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 2,280,000
Capital: Windhoek

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
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