Namdock workers demand CEO’s resignation

Employees of Namdock in Walvis Bay staged a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday and handed over a petition demanding the immediate resignation of chief executive officer Albertus Kariko and other senior executives.

The workers, represented by the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU), said they had lost confidence in the company’s leadership and accused management of failing to engage the union on key labour matters.

Shop steward chairperson January Mwattle said workers were concerned about the state of labour relations under the current leadership.

“As workers of Namdock, we have continuously attempted to engage management in a constructive manner for the benefit of both workers and the company,” the petition stated.

Workers claimed numerous emails and meeting requests sent by the union had gone unanswered, leaving important issues unresolved.

Among the grievances raised were concerns over recruitment practices, the treatment of long-serving fixed-term contract workers, proposed shift changes without consultation, unpaid overtime for foremen, unresolved housing allowance issues, and alleged discrimination and favouritism within the infrastructure department.

Employees also criticised salary structures at the company.

“Namdock, as the biggest shipyard in Namibia, charges clients in foreign currency while employees remain on entry-level salaries below market-related rates,” the petition stated.

Workers demanded the implementation of a fair grading system and permanent employment for long-serving contract workers.

They further called for the resignation of the CEO, chief operations officer and the executive responsible for infrastructure.

“We have lost trust in the leadership of the current executives of Namdock,” the petition read.

The workers demanded a response within five working days and insisted that future meetings between management and workers’ committees include union officials until all outstanding matters are resolved.

Management had received the petition at the time of the demonstration. Namdock’s response was not immediately available.