Suspended Salini workers feel rejected
Suspended workers at the Neckartal Dam project say they feel the Namibian government has turned its back on them because it failed to intervene in the untenable labour relations between the Italian managers of Salini Namibia and Namibian workers despite having been sent reports of their grievances.
One of the suspended workers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a full report on the working conditions at the site was sent to the office of President Hage Geingob in October last year but no response has been received.
“The reasons why people have gone on strike are all listed in the report to the president. We turned to the president for help but got nothing,” said the worker.
Forty workers who participated in the strike received suspension notices on Monday and are being charged with “industrial sabotage”.
The branch manager of the Metal and Allied Workers Union (Manwu), Emmarentia Riekert, said all but one of the shop stewards were suspended.
They were still negotiating with the Salini management yesterday .
The chairperson of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA), Lazarus Kairabeb, said he was concerned over the “overall upper hand” of Salini Namibia in the labour relations between the foreign management and Namibian workers.
He suggested that it would have been prudent for a body of equal standing to have intervened in the “dysfunctional relationship” between management and the workers.
“I hope the powers that be will put more pressure on finding the real problems behind the labour unrest. As much as there is a problem with the management of Salini there is also a problem with the workers,” said Kairabeb.
He questioned Salini’s use of the word “sabotage” in its charge against the suspended workers.
“What does sabotage mean if people are complaining? It is that kind of thinking that is totally out of place. That is an indication that something is not working,” Kairabeb said.
He added that the union is not taking advantage of a clause in the Project Labour Agreement (PLA) of 2014 that makes provision for training of local personnel in all disciplines.
Salini’s spokesperson, Gilles René Castonguay, said the company had no comment at this stage.
CATHERINE SASMAN
One of the suspended workers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a full report on the working conditions at the site was sent to the office of President Hage Geingob in October last year but no response has been received.
“The reasons why people have gone on strike are all listed in the report to the president. We turned to the president for help but got nothing,” said the worker.
Forty workers who participated in the strike received suspension notices on Monday and are being charged with “industrial sabotage”.
The branch manager of the Metal and Allied Workers Union (Manwu), Emmarentia Riekert, said all but one of the shop stewards were suspended.
They were still negotiating with the Salini management yesterday .
The chairperson of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA), Lazarus Kairabeb, said he was concerned over the “overall upper hand” of Salini Namibia in the labour relations between the foreign management and Namibian workers.
He suggested that it would have been prudent for a body of equal standing to have intervened in the “dysfunctional relationship” between management and the workers.
“I hope the powers that be will put more pressure on finding the real problems behind the labour unrest. As much as there is a problem with the management of Salini there is also a problem with the workers,” said Kairabeb.
He questioned Salini’s use of the word “sabotage” in its charge against the suspended workers.
“What does sabotage mean if people are complaining? It is that kind of thinking that is totally out of place. That is an indication that something is not working,” Kairabeb said.
He added that the union is not taking advantage of a clause in the Project Labour Agreement (PLA) of 2014 that makes provision for training of local personnel in all disciplines.
Salini’s spokesperson, Gilles René Castonguay, said the company had no comment at this stage.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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