Sign Shop cuts staff pay
Employees of the Sign Shop Group in Windhoek say they would rather be laid off than have their work hours and salaries halved.
Some employees of the Sign Shop Group are unhappy with management's decision to reduce their working hours, and thus their monthly salaries, by about 50%.
Representing the 20 workers picketing near the company premises on Thursday, private labour consultant Elbert Pogisho told Nampa he had written a letter to management last month to express the workers' unhappiness about being forced to work less and be paid less.
Pogisho said the workers had proposed that the company retrench them if it could not afford to pay them, but according to him the Sign Shop Group refused to do that.
In a statement issued on Thursday, general manager Beverly Jandrell-Uren said the economic downturn had left the wholly-owned Namibian group of companies with no choice but to reduce working hours to 4.5 per day and, therefore, salaries would be reduced as well.
“Clients are cancelling projects, regular clients are shelving work and in general the tone of the economy is down.”
She said the 134 employees of the eight entities such as Sign Shop, Xtreme Print and Stamp, and Eshisha were informed in October 2016 of the possible measure to ensure their employment.
“It would be short sighted for the owners to consider drastic measures such as retrenchment at this time without considering the well-being of employees and the families whom they support,” Jandrell-Uren said.
The picketing employees were mainly manual labourers who work in the workshop or on sites and earn between N$2 000 and N$4 000 per month.
They were denied entry to the company's premises in the Southern Industrial Area on Thursday and said they were not given the opportunity to speak with management.
Pogisho said management refused to speak to him too. He said they were not planning industrial action that could potentially be deemed illegal.
He said the employees were adamant that they would prefer to be retrenched and receive severance packages so that they could look for employment elsewhere if the company could not afford to pay them for a full day's work.
Employee Asser Mbaukuua told Nampa that earning half of his N$2 000 salary would make life difficult.
“Don't cut our money, just leave our salaries as they are,” Mbaukuua pleaded.
The statement from the group of companies quotes executive director Ernie Rix saying they as employers have the responsibility to ensure employment, in whatever format and for as long as possible.
“Our teams are doing everything possible for the continuation and financial viability of all the business units,” Rix said.
NAMPA
Representing the 20 workers picketing near the company premises on Thursday, private labour consultant Elbert Pogisho told Nampa he had written a letter to management last month to express the workers' unhappiness about being forced to work less and be paid less.
Pogisho said the workers had proposed that the company retrench them if it could not afford to pay them, but according to him the Sign Shop Group refused to do that.
In a statement issued on Thursday, general manager Beverly Jandrell-Uren said the economic downturn had left the wholly-owned Namibian group of companies with no choice but to reduce working hours to 4.5 per day and, therefore, salaries would be reduced as well.
“Clients are cancelling projects, regular clients are shelving work and in general the tone of the economy is down.”
She said the 134 employees of the eight entities such as Sign Shop, Xtreme Print and Stamp, and Eshisha were informed in October 2016 of the possible measure to ensure their employment.
“It would be short sighted for the owners to consider drastic measures such as retrenchment at this time without considering the well-being of employees and the families whom they support,” Jandrell-Uren said.
The picketing employees were mainly manual labourers who work in the workshop or on sites and earn between N$2 000 and N$4 000 per month.
They were denied entry to the company's premises in the Southern Industrial Area on Thursday and said they were not given the opportunity to speak with management.
Pogisho said management refused to speak to him too. He said they were not planning industrial action that could potentially be deemed illegal.
He said the employees were adamant that they would prefer to be retrenched and receive severance packages so that they could look for employment elsewhere if the company could not afford to pay them for a full day's work.
Employee Asser Mbaukuua told Nampa that earning half of his N$2 000 salary would make life difficult.
“Don't cut our money, just leave our salaries as they are,” Mbaukuua pleaded.
The statement from the group of companies quotes executive director Ernie Rix saying they as employers have the responsibility to ensure employment, in whatever format and for as long as possible.
“Our teams are doing everything possible for the continuation and financial viability of all the business units,” Rix said.
NAMPA
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