Nored loses bid to block union strike

The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) has been cleared to proceed with industrial action against the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) after the Oshakati Labour Court dismissed the company’s urgent bid to halt the planned strike.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, judge David Munsu ruled that Nored had failed to demonstrate urgency in its application and ordered the company to pay the union’s legal costs.

The court found that Nored’s objection to the referral procedure had been raised belatedly, despite the company being aware of the dispute since October 2025, and that the urgency was largely self-created.

The dispute dates back to June 2017, when Nored and the union signed a recognition and procedural agreement, granting the union the mandate to represent employees in wage negotiations and setting out formal procedures for handling disputes.

Salary talks stall

Negotiations over wages for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 financial years took place between June and October last year, but the parties were unable to reach agreement, prompting the union to refer a dispute of interest to the labour commissioner.

A conciliation meeting held on 31 October failed to resolve the dispute.

The conciliator issued a certificate of unresolved dispute and scheduled discussions to determine strike rules. Nored actively participated in these discussions, and the union conducted a ballot among its members, who overwhelmingly voted in favour of industrial action.

In January, Nored raised an objection, claiming that the union had followed the incorrect legal procedure under Section 74 instead of Section 78, which governs disputes involving essential service providers. The company argued that this procedural error invalidated the strike process and sought an urgent interdict to prevent industrial action.

The court, however, noted that Nored had been aware of the relevant provisions since October 2025 but raised its objection only months later, after fully participating in conciliation proceedings.

Judge Munsu concluded that the delay undermined the claim of urgency, emphasising that the risk of irreparable harm alone does not justify bypassing standard legal procedures.

With the ruling going against Nored, the union is now legally cleared to proceed with the strike, raising concerns over potential disruptions to electricity supply.