by Adam Hartman
THE Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) on Tuesday criticised the Namibian Employers’ Federation (NEF) for dragging the government to court to halt certain Covid-19 labour directives.
The
government has ordered that employers may not dismiss workers between 28
March and 2 June, which marks the end of stage 2 of Namibia’s lockdown
exit strategy.
In reaction, the NEF and various other employers
have filed an urgent application at the High Court against the
president, the government and trade unions to have the suspension of
parts of the Labour Act during the Covid-19 state of emergency declared
unconstitutional.
The MUN says the move by the federation does not consider the welfare of workers.
“We
find the statements by the NEF ill-considered, and not in the spirit of
tripartite cooperation. If workers are required to be understanding of
the difficulty faced by employers in these unprecedented times, we then
also expect employers to be sensitive and sympathetic to the plight of
workers, who face the prospect of unemployment, starvation and
destitution,” Abiud Kapere, western regional chairman of the MUN, said
in a statement.
Kapere said the federation’s call for the setting
aside of the directives makes its intentions to complement the
government’s efforts in challenging times questionable.
“We call
upon all stakeholders, regardless of industry, to prioritise the
principles of collective bargaining and encourage constructive dialogue
in the interest of amicable consensus in these tough times, instead of
making threats that undermine the government’s initiatives which are
merely aimed at easing the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,”
Kapere said.
He said mineworkers will not take the matter lightly.
“If
we have to apply solidarity of the mining industry to support the
government, we will do so in whatever form is necessary,” he said.
Not
only may employers not dismiss employees in the specified period, they
may also not force employees to take unpaid leave or annual leave due to
the pandemic, and they may not reduce payment of employees for reasons
related to the pandemic.
Employers are required to reinstate
employees who have been dismissed due to the effect of the pandemic on
their businesses, and to negotiate with recognised trade unions,
workplace representatives or affected employees themselves if they want
to reduce or defer payment or remuneration during the lockdown period.
Employers say they have no choice but to reduce their staff numbers to protect their companies from huge financial losses.
The
secretary general of the NEF, Daniel Strauss, said in an affidavit
filed at the court that many employers in Namibia are facing imminent
demise if they are not allowed to use the provisions in the Labour Act
to try and cut their labour costs.
The case has been postponed to 26 May for a hearing.
The
Namibian reported recently that 543 employees were retrenched at 10
companies during the lockdown, and the figure has climbed with more job
losses looming.
The tourism, construction and mining sectors are among the hardest hit.
