Labour commissioner roasted as NHE extinguishes strike
Ogone Tlhage
Oshikunde
The Public Service Union of Namibia (PSUN) says it is disheartened by the conduct of the Office of the Labour Commissioner, saying it did little to end a labour dispute between the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) and its striking employees.PSUN deputy secretary-general Ujama Kaahangoro accused the labour commissioner’s office of not fulfilling its mandate of resolving employer-employee disputes.
“The labour commissioner was not helpful as usual in this process, and the union and the company had to rely on its own creativeness to reach this agreement, whereas the Office of the Labour Commissioner could have assisted in ending this strike,” Kaahangoro said.
Agreement reached
The NHE and PSUN had to resolve among themselves to end the strike, despite the Office of the Labour Commissioner having to try and mediate, Kaahangoro stressed.
“The conduct of the conciliator, as usual, was very disappointing; we were not impressed. Had we not had the social capital and trust to rely on our own inner resources, we would not have ended this strike,” he said.
Both the NHE and the striking workers would now work to ensure set goals are met in an effort to avert future strikes, he added.
“We managed to strike an agreement where the union and its members commit, on a serious note, to achieve certain targets to help the company move forward,” he said.
Among the outcomes of the strike, employees will earn a once-off payment of N$5 000 and will get individual scorecards to meet stated deliverables, which include the finalisation of a strategic integrated business plan, the implementation of an enterprise resource plan, and the finalisation of outstanding audits for 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Oshikunde
The Public Service Union of Namibia (PSUN) says it is disheartened by the conduct of the Office of the Labour Commissioner, saying it did little to end a labour dispute between the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) and its striking employees.PSUN deputy secretary-general Ujama Kaahangoro accused the labour commissioner’s office of not fulfilling its mandate of resolving employer-employee disputes.
“The labour commissioner was not helpful as usual in this process, and the union and the company had to rely on its own creativeness to reach this agreement, whereas the Office of the Labour Commissioner could have assisted in ending this strike,” Kaahangoro said.
Agreement reached
The NHE and PSUN had to resolve among themselves to end the strike, despite the Office of the Labour Commissioner having to try and mediate, Kaahangoro stressed.
“The conduct of the conciliator, as usual, was very disappointing; we were not impressed. Had we not had the social capital and trust to rely on our own inner resources, we would not have ended this strike,” he said.
Both the NHE and the striking workers would now work to ensure set goals are met in an effort to avert future strikes, he added.
“We managed to strike an agreement where the union and its members commit, on a serious note, to achieve certain targets to help the company move forward,” he said.
Among the outcomes of the strike, employees will earn a once-off payment of N$5 000 and will get individual scorecards to meet stated deliverables, which include the finalisation of a strategic integrated business plan, the implementation of an enterprise resource plan, and the finalisation of outstanding audits for 2017, 2018 and 2019.
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