Shoprite mess a govt creation – Tucna

The government's indecisiveness in strengthening labour laws has allowed Shoprite to take its workers to the cleaners, according to the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna).

The union also accused the government of being weak and having no political will to take on Shoprite.

Union president Mahongora Kavihuha said they had lobbied labour minister Erkki Nghimtina and permanent secretary Bro-Matthew Shinguadja, who were repeatedly told to amend to the Labour Act.

“The action of the company [Shoprite] is necessitated by weaknesses in the Labour Act. It prevents workers from joining a union, in the sense that it makes the deduction of worker fees discretionary by the employer,” Kavihuha said.

He explained that for workers to enjoy the benefits of belonging to a union, the Labour Act requires that 50% plus one of a company's workforce must join a bargaining unit. If that is not the case, an employer may decide whether to pay over membership fees to the union or not.





Kavihuha added that the Labour Act requires merely one amendment in this regard, and that is what they have been telling the minister and the PS.

“We already met the minister to ask him to just pass this one amendment. The permanent secretary was there. The law also makes it difficult for workers to sign a bargaining agreement.”

According to Kavihuha, as in the case of Shoprite, very few companies have bargaining units and very few employees enjoy bargaining agreements.

According to him, the weaknesses of the Labour Act meant that Shoprite knows it can take on the workers.

“They [Shoprite] are testing workers' power; they also know that government is weak and has no political will to take on Shoprite.”

Shinguadja said Tucna was a party to committees that were looking into strengthening current labour laws.

“I respect the view of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia. However, I do not think they have told you that they are party to both the tripartite working committee on the revision of the Labour Act, as well as the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council,” Shinguadja said.

Kavihuha responded by saying that Tucna was only pushing for one amendment to the Labour Act.

“They can just pass one amendment, not a review of the whole act that will take years. The permanent secretary must not mix issues,” Kavihuha added.

Labour analyst Herbert Jauch said the Shoprite issue would illustrate the government's willingness to protect employees.

Its failure to do so would see many companies follow Shoprite's example and hold workers accountable for labour unrest and associated costs.

Shoprite has turned to the High Court to sue 94 workers who it says wilfully cost it losses of N$4.5 million during strike actions in 2015.

It claims it was unable to keep its premises open on 28 July 2015 and suffered a loss of N$288 000.

To avert the strike, Shoprite had to pay N$3.4 million in legal costs, while temporary staff were employed to keep its shops open at a cost of N$189 750.

To conduct disciplinary hearings, Shoprite had to fork out an additional N$616 398, bringing total losses suffered as a consequence of the workers' actions to N$4.5 million.

“Shoprite is testing the government's ability to hold it accountable. We have seen no action from the government regarding Shoprite. We will have a situation where any employer can do what they want,” said Jauch.

“It makes sense that they want to intimidate workers, generally. If we allow Shoprite to do that, then we are in big trouble. We are waiting for a response from the government and they must show that they can pass laws to protect workers.”

Jauch said Shoprite should pay for their own decision to look for legal advice and hold disciplinary hearings.

He said it was absurd that the responsibility for paying the fees incurred in a labour dispute was now the responsibility of the workers.

According to him, workers are being punished for seeking better working conditions.

“The message they are sending out is that you do not just risk losing your job, but you risk severe punishment [as well].”

Shinguadja said the labour ministry was disappointed by Shoprite's actions.

“The costs associated with the so-called disciplinary action against the workers are self-inflicted and backfired, as Shoprite ignored all advice to either shorten the process or completely suspend the flawed process.”

OGONE TLHAGE