NIMT retrenchment letters recalled
There will be no layoffs at campuses of the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), as there was never a resolution taken by the board on this matter.
The 44 employees who received retrenchment letters by NIMT are to report back to duty.
This is according to a statement issued by the higher education ministry following a visit by the minister Dr Itah Kandjii-Murangi to the NIMT campus at Arandis and the northern campus.
She will today visit the NIMT campus in the south to address management and staff on the issue of retrenchments. According to the statement Kandjii-Murangi informed staff that it was an unfortunate incident that 44 employees of NIMT were served with retrenchment letters.
She said after reading about the retrenchments at NIMT, she approached some trustees of the NIMT board. The trustees confirmed that there had been no board resolution on layoffs, although NIMT management had presented to them the financial challenges the institution was facing, as well as a proposal on cost-cutting measures. “In principle the trustees accepted that given the current financial challenges the institution was facing, it was prudent for management to implement cost-cutting measures and get back to the trustees with more detailed cost-cutting proposals,” the ministry said. The statement said the minister directed management to reinstate the retrenched employees and to request them to report back for duty immediately. Kandjii-Murangi emphasised the important role institutions such as NIMT is playing in developing vocational and technical skills needed for Namibia to attain Vision 2030 and to address unemployment and poverty.
She said the government would not allow institutions such as NIMT to go under.
She assured management and staff that the ministry was aware of the financial problems at some of the agencies falling under the ministry, and that it was consulting with the finance ministry to see how the situation could be remedied.
The minister appealed to management and staff to become more innovative and to cut costs at NIMT campuses.
She said layoffs should be the last resort, adding that other institutions of higher learning were facing similar challenges.
“The ministry is constantly in contact with all its institutions pertaining to funding to find an amicable solution,” said the statement.
The 44 employees who received retrenchment letters by NIMT are to report back to duty.
This is according to a statement issued by the higher education ministry following a visit by the minister Dr Itah Kandjii-Murangi to the NIMT campus at Arandis and the northern campus.
She will today visit the NIMT campus in the south to address management and staff on the issue of retrenchments. According to the statement Kandjii-Murangi informed staff that it was an unfortunate incident that 44 employees of NIMT were served with retrenchment letters.
She said after reading about the retrenchments at NIMT, she approached some trustees of the NIMT board. The trustees confirmed that there had been no board resolution on layoffs, although NIMT management had presented to them the financial challenges the institution was facing, as well as a proposal on cost-cutting measures. “In principle the trustees accepted that given the current financial challenges the institution was facing, it was prudent for management to implement cost-cutting measures and get back to the trustees with more detailed cost-cutting proposals,” the ministry said. The statement said the minister directed management to reinstate the retrenched employees and to request them to report back for duty immediately. Kandjii-Murangi emphasised the important role institutions such as NIMT is playing in developing vocational and technical skills needed for Namibia to attain Vision 2030 and to address unemployment and poverty.
She said the government would not allow institutions such as NIMT to go under.
She assured management and staff that the ministry was aware of the financial problems at some of the agencies falling under the ministry, and that it was consulting with the finance ministry to see how the situation could be remedied.
The minister appealed to management and staff to become more innovative and to cut costs at NIMT campuses.
She said layoffs should be the last resort, adding that other institutions of higher learning were facing similar challenges.
“The ministry is constantly in contact with all its institutions pertaining to funding to find an amicable solution,” said the statement.
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