Fishermen, miners demand justice
Former TCL mineworkers and fishermen who were fired after an illegal strike in 2015 have joined their causes with the support of the Workers Revolutionary Party.
JANA-MARI SMITH
A petition signed by more than a thousand beleaguered fishermen and former Tsumeb miners was handed over to labour and justice officials in Windhoek yesterday, demanding that alleged corruption by High Court judges and labour officials be investigated.
A group consisting of members of United Fishermen of Namibia, as well as former miners employed at the Tsumeb Corporation Limited (TCL), with the support of the Workers Revolutionary Party, handed over the petition that contained a number of serious allegations against Labour Court officials as well as High Court judges who had presided over their court cases.
“We the United Fishermen, the former TCL workers, mineworkers and workers of the community of Tsumeb, send this letter to you to notify you that we will not accept corruption in the courts under your leadership,” the letter’s introduction stated.
The letter alleged ongoing bribery of “incompetent and spineless arbitrators” by fishing companies and alleged that “the judges of the Labour Court area also bribed”.
The petitioners demanded the removal of judges who had ruled against them in court cases.
Mathew Lungameni, a spokesperson for the fishermen, said the fishermen and miners wanted a meeting with the government to resolve the issue.
Other actions
The same group of about 30 fishermen had marched to the offices of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation in Walvis Bay in mid-March.
They handed over a petition demanding the reinstatement of fishermen who had been dismissed after an illegal strike in November 2015. They also demanded overtime payment backdated to 2008.
Yesterday, a copy of the new petition was handed to High Court deputy chief registrar Steven Rou-Rou, and afterwards another copy was handed to a Supreme Court deputy registrar.
The final copy was handed to the permanent secretary of labour, Bro-Mathew Shinguadja.
The petition accused High Court Judge Petrus Unengu, who had presided over the court case in December 2015, of refusing to listen to their objections that “it was a criminal case and not a labour case”.
The petition accused the judge of abusing his position “to rule in favour of fishing companies of whom we were not employees”.
The petition stated that the fishermen and miners were “returning to court to redeem our rights. We seek and demand justice and not corruption.”
Justice due in Tsumeb
The petition stated that the former TCL miners had been subject to similar injustices in 2009 when the High Court heard a matter regarding pensions.
“They were treated with disrespect, they received no seating space. They were made to stand like cattle at a drinking trough, while the judge lunched and joked with TCL management’s lawyers and allowed a private lawyer to stand in for the government lawyer. Objections were ignored by Judge Naomi Shivute,” the petition alleged.
Yesterday’s petition was part of a drawn-out battle by the fishermen which began in November 2015 when around 800 employees embarked on a wildcat strike.
At the time, the fishermen said they were required to work illegal shifts that did not adhere to Labour Act regulations.
They also complained about a lack of healthcare at sea. Another issue was a lack of intervention by the labour ministry following extensive inspections of fishing companies, they said.
Meanwhile, many of the striking fishermen’s positions were filled and the fishing companies refused to re-employ them.
Lungameni yesterday said that the implications of losing their jobs had been stressful. He said a number of former fishermen had committed suicide in the past 18 months, as the situation was unbearable.
Isidor Mukuve, who joined the group yesterday on behalf of former TCL mineworkers, told Namibian Sun that the miners were seeking justice for unpaid pension funds dating back to 1996, as well as company houses in Tsumeb that were allegedly “expropriated” unlawfully and unjustly.
He claimed that close to N$1 billion in pension payments were owed to more than 4 000 former mineworkers.
A petition signed by more than a thousand beleaguered fishermen and former Tsumeb miners was handed over to labour and justice officials in Windhoek yesterday, demanding that alleged corruption by High Court judges and labour officials be investigated.
A group consisting of members of United Fishermen of Namibia, as well as former miners employed at the Tsumeb Corporation Limited (TCL), with the support of the Workers Revolutionary Party, handed over the petition that contained a number of serious allegations against Labour Court officials as well as High Court judges who had presided over their court cases.
“We the United Fishermen, the former TCL workers, mineworkers and workers of the community of Tsumeb, send this letter to you to notify you that we will not accept corruption in the courts under your leadership,” the letter’s introduction stated.
The letter alleged ongoing bribery of “incompetent and spineless arbitrators” by fishing companies and alleged that “the judges of the Labour Court area also bribed”.
The petitioners demanded the removal of judges who had ruled against them in court cases.
Mathew Lungameni, a spokesperson for the fishermen, said the fishermen and miners wanted a meeting with the government to resolve the issue.
Other actions
The same group of about 30 fishermen had marched to the offices of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation in Walvis Bay in mid-March.
They handed over a petition demanding the reinstatement of fishermen who had been dismissed after an illegal strike in November 2015. They also demanded overtime payment backdated to 2008.
Yesterday, a copy of the new petition was handed to High Court deputy chief registrar Steven Rou-Rou, and afterwards another copy was handed to a Supreme Court deputy registrar.
The final copy was handed to the permanent secretary of labour, Bro-Mathew Shinguadja.
The petition accused High Court Judge Petrus Unengu, who had presided over the court case in December 2015, of refusing to listen to their objections that “it was a criminal case and not a labour case”.
The petition accused the judge of abusing his position “to rule in favour of fishing companies of whom we were not employees”.
The petition stated that the fishermen and miners were “returning to court to redeem our rights. We seek and demand justice and not corruption.”
Justice due in Tsumeb
The petition stated that the former TCL miners had been subject to similar injustices in 2009 when the High Court heard a matter regarding pensions.
“They were treated with disrespect, they received no seating space. They were made to stand like cattle at a drinking trough, while the judge lunched and joked with TCL management’s lawyers and allowed a private lawyer to stand in for the government lawyer. Objections were ignored by Judge Naomi Shivute,” the petition alleged.
Yesterday’s petition was part of a drawn-out battle by the fishermen which began in November 2015 when around 800 employees embarked on a wildcat strike.
At the time, the fishermen said they were required to work illegal shifts that did not adhere to Labour Act regulations.
They also complained about a lack of healthcare at sea. Another issue was a lack of intervention by the labour ministry following extensive inspections of fishing companies, they said.
Meanwhile, many of the striking fishermen’s positions were filled and the fishing companies refused to re-employ them.
Lungameni yesterday said that the implications of losing their jobs had been stressful. He said a number of former fishermen had committed suicide in the past 18 months, as the situation was unbearable.
Isidor Mukuve, who joined the group yesterday on behalf of former TCL mineworkers, told Namibian Sun that the miners were seeking justice for unpaid pension funds dating back to 1996, as well as company houses in Tsumeb that were allegedly “expropriated” unlawfully and unjustly.
He claimed that close to N$1 billion in pension payments were owed to more than 4 000 former mineworkers.
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