Namibia

The Employment Placement and Services Namibia (EPSN) has confirmed that 43 workers who have been 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 since 12 October will have their employment terminated after engaging in what the company deems an illegal 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 group is represented by Affirmative Repositioning Movement (AR)’s Revolutionary Union (RU). The dismissed workers were employed by Nak Trading and Enterprise in Oshikoto.

Workers at Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) on Monday demonstrated outside the Office of the Labour Commissioner in Windhoek against the delay in issuing its 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 rules.
This became necessary because the NWR and the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) had reached a deadlock over the union’s demand for a 12% salary increase. The deadlock resulted in Napwu receiving a certificate of unresolved dispute that provided them with the mandate 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 the two parties agreed on the rules of engagement.

However, in a petition addressed to labour permanent secretary Bro-Matthew Shinguadja, senior shop steward shop steward A union worker who represents the members of a union in dealings with the employer. Often elected by union members who work in the same establishment. Selma Nathinge said despite the certificate of unresolved dispute issued on 8 November 2018, employees still do not have the rules for a proposed 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. She said that efforts to meet the company management have been in vain, adding that NWR has been dragging its feet to meet the Napwu representatives to discuss 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 rules.

About 320 workers of Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation took part in a week-long 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 that started on 17 April 2017 in protest against the victimisation of workers who had participated in last year’s 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. and the failure of the management to hear other work-related grievances. The company threatened workers with immediate dismissal. The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) branch and Rosh Pinah managed to negotiate final written warnings in place of dismissals. NUM argued that it was the company’s refusal to listen to the workers’ grievances that had caused the 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. .

The Government resorted to various strategies to delay and to undermine Namibia’s first national teachers’ 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 , supported by the Namibia National Teachers’ Union (NANTU). 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 was planned for 14 July in order to support demands for an 8% salary increase, just above the inflation rate.

The Government lost in the Labour Court after it attempted to obtain an interdict against 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 . Workers went through a lengthy 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 period imposed by the Government and facilitated by the Ministry of the Labour Commissioner. After the 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 failed, NANTU organised a 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 ballot among all the teachers in which the majority voted in favour of a 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 . In reaction, the Government announced that it would look for options to recruit “volunteers” from inside and outside Namibia to replace the striking workers.

The Government’s action was in violation of both international and national law. Chapter 7, Section 76 of the Namibia Labour Act of 2007 prohibits the replacement of workers who are on a legal 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 management of the Italian company, Salini SpA, refused to engage in dialogue with the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU) over bad working conditions at the Neckartal Dam construction site near Keetmanshoop. It also suspended two shop stewards for alleged misconduct. The union was in dispute with management over a number of issues, including non-performance of the agreement signed with MANWU, bad health and safety conditions, salary discrepancies, abuse of fixed-term contracts and failure to pay workers living at the campsite living allowances. On 28 June, workers organised a half-day 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 and blocked the site’s main entrance gate. The management refused to engage in negotiations and announced its intention to apply to the Labour Court for an injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. to stop 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 . It further called on the police to open the locked gate in order to allow the non-striking workers to freely enter or leave the site.

On several occasions Namibian Courts issued interdicts de facto severely undermining 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 . Such was the case on 4 December 2015, when paradoxically – upon request of the employer Nedbank – the interdict was issued even before 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 announced by Namibia Financial Institutions Union (Nafinu) effectively took place.
Another explanatory episode started in November 2015 when Namibian fishermen engaged in a massive 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 denouncing the slavery-like working conditions (workers obliged to work up to 15 hours per day with almost no meal, ridiculous salaries and very little time home from one fishing expedition to the other).
In response to this collective action, 12 fishing companies obtained on 7 December a Labour Court interdict against the striking fishermen, two trade unions and two trade unionists because 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 did not comply with all the requirements requested from a procedural point of view. For this reason 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 was defined as illegal and the striking employees of the 12 companies as well as the Mining, Metal, Maritime & Construction Union; its president, Evilastus Kaaronda; the Namibia National Labour Organisation (Nanlo); and Nanlo’s regional coordinator based at Swakopmund, Immanuel Petrus, were prohibited from inciting or encouraging any of the companies’ employees to take part in “unlawful” strikes. Furthermore, the Court’s interdict prohibited intimidation, assault, harassment or interference with any of the fishing companies’ employees or with the companies’ business operations – this including a ban 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 , picket or undertake any other 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. within 100 metres from the companies’ premises.

On 14 August workers at Rio Tinto’s Rössing Uranium Mine (represented by Mineworkers Union of Namibia – MUN) organised a demonstration and delivered a petition to management against its authoritarian behaviours. In July 2015, in fact, Rio Tinto installed surveillance equipment in haul trucks without consultation of workers’ representatives in violation of Rio Tinto’s code of conduct “The way we work”. The petition also raised the point on victimisation of workers’ representatives demanding the withdrawal of charges against workers that protested against the installation of surveillance equipment and asking the company to comply with the company code of conduct and to treat workers respectfully.
Rio Tinto behaviours putting at risk workers’ lives and threatening their right to bargain collectively have been pointed out in IndustriAll report Rio Tinto: The way it really works. In 2015 the Company had witnessed worker fatalities in Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Madagascar and South Africa and perpetrated violations of workers’ fundamental rights of 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 , a safe workplace, security of person as well as violations of indigenous peoples’ rights (e.g., free, prior and informed consent; religious and cultural freedom; benefits of resource exploitation) in different countries.

On 19 December 2014 Shoprite workers took part in a 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 that involved several Shoprite and Checkers outlets, demanding a 20 per cent salary increase and back pay back pay Wages or benefits due an employee for past employment. Often awarded when the employee has been unfairly dismissed. Not to be confused with retroactive pay (delayed payment for work previously done at a lower wage rate). .
In response to this collective action, Shoprite filed an “interdict” against its workers who went on a “wildcat 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 ” and summoned them to appear in Court on 28 January 2015. The Court eventually condemned the workers and prohibited them from vacating the premises of Shoprite. On top of that it also ordered the Namibia Commercial Catering Food and Allied Workers Union (NACCAFWU) together with all the striking employees to pay the litigation costs, and recognised as legitimate the intervention of the police, who violently intervened 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 .

In August 2015, just a few months after this first episode, Shoprite workers were condemned again by the Ministry of Labour (director Phillip Mwandinga) which qualified the other 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 held at the beginning of August as unlawful.
According to the Minister, in fact, after the deadlock between workers and management concerning wage negotiations, the workers should have followed the correct procedures, and embarking on a 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 meant an attempt to take a shortcut making 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 illegal. Nevertheless, Mr Mwandinga recognised that there are several cases that have been brought to the attention of the Ministry involving exploitation of workers by Shoprite. According to the Minister, though, this does not give the workers the excuse to take the law into their own hands by going 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 .

On 15 June 2015 around 200 workers at Namib Mills staged a peaceful demonstration at the company against unfair labour practices. The workers also handed over a petition containing their grievances – among other, issues concerning salaries – to the Namib Mills management.
In particular, the main request regarded the re-instatement of two colleagues dismissed from the company, namely Desmond Nunuge and Mwilima Yamba: the first colleague was dismissed because of alleged allegations proving that he had stolen sugar, while the latter, a truck driver in Katima Mulilo, was dismissed because he allegedly had stolen tie-down straps from a NM customer.
In response Haingura Christian, a workers’ representative, opposed the allegations, stating that Nunege was dismissed because he was sensitising his colleagues about some abusive company practices, while Yamba was fired because he had received an informing letter from the Namibia National Labour Organisation (Nanlo), the union representing NM workers. Mr Haingura added that the workers handed over a petition in May 2015 to NM management, receiving no feedback because the company does not recognise as legitimate the Nanlo trade union, despite the fact that it is a certified one stating that it is not a real trade union but rather a federation of trade unions.

The Mineworkers Union of Namibia’s regional chairperson, John Ndeutepo, accused B&E International Namibia of attempting to undermine a 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 . Workers had downed tools at the mine on 16 February 2015 after 199 union members had voted in favour of 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 company tried to undermine them by issuing individual agreements within the 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
, and bribing employees to waive their 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 in exchange for a backdated increase from the end of February. The workers were demanding a 12 per cent - 20 per cent increase on their basic wage, medical aid, transport allowance and bonus. The company offered a 15 per cent wage increase and N$300 for medical aid.

Namibia Beverages, the producer and bottler of Coca-Cola in Namibia, suspended two shop stewards, named only as Johannes and Abraham, on Monday 8 December 2014. The suspension followed action by the union which had taken up the workers concerns, namely that they were being victimised and exploited purely because of their skin colour. The workers held a demonstration outside the company building on Thursday 11 December 2014 in protest, calling for an investigation into the management’s behaviour.

After negotiations between the First National Bank (FNB) and the Namibia Bank and Allied Workers Union (NBWU) failed, management stated that it would negotiate wage increases with individual workers. The union made clear that this statement was in violation of the recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. agreement between FNB and the union. Furthermore, the bank engaged in unfair labour practices during the negotiations by threatening and intimidating unionised workers.

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.

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.

Trade unions not affiliated with the ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation) party have continued to be marginalised. Only representatives of the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Social Security Commission and the Government Institution Pension Fund.