Sympathy is not enough
The government should do something tangible to help thousands of fishermen who were fired after an illegal strike, the official opposition says.
The DTA says if the government is truly sympathetic towards the more than 4 000 fishermen at Walvis Bay and Lüderitz who were fired after their strike was declared illegal, the seamen should be reinstated in their jobs.
DTA secretary-general Manuel Ngaringombe said the government's sympathy should extend to tangible actions designed to return the fishermen to their jobs.
“A failure to do so would simply place further doubt on where the government's sympathy truly lies – with the politically connected fishing rights holders or with the countless fishermen and their families who have been left jobless and with no means to feed their families,” he said.
This follows after fisheries minister Bernard Esau recently castigated fishermen who had embarked on an illegal strike two years ago, saying they did not listen to the authorities.
He added that the government was sympathetic to their cause, and the fired fishermen should have first right of refusal when new jobs are advertised.
In October 2015, more than 4 000 fishermen went on strike at Walvis Bay and Lüderitz. The strike was declared illegal. The seamen demanded basic salary increases, higher medical aid benefits, overtime pay and housing allowances.
Most of them were fired from their jobs, while a few returned to work after the strike was declared illegal.
“The DTA believes that the Namibian people need to rally together and stand up and be counted. It is only once we rise together in unity and fight for the rights of fishermen and all those who have fallen victim to the crippling unemployment spreading through Namibia, that we will be able to not only sympathise but empathise with the fishermen and all other unemployed Namibians – young and old alike,” said Ngaringombe.
According to him, fishermen in Namibia have for many years raised concerns with their employers, the fisheries ministry and the labour ministry regarding unsafe and deplorable working conditions.
However, all their concerns and complaints fell on deaf ears, said Ngaringombe.
“It is therefore extremely perplexing to find Esau now telling fishermen that they did not listen and instead went on strike. Who listened to the fishermen when they aired their grievances on countless occasions?”
According to Ngaringombe the minister wanted to make it seem as if the fishermen's decision to go on strike during October 2015 was a “knee-jerk reaction”, when in fact it was borne out of frustration with not having their complaints addressed for many years.
He said the pretence now that had the fishermen not gone on strike their problems would have been addressed internally, was a complete shame when numerous attempts to do so internally were ignored by the fishing companies and the ministries of fisheries and labour.
“For Esau to now say that the government is 'sympathetic' to the cause of the more than 4 000 fishermen who lost their jobs when the same government ignored their concerns for so long, is completely insincere.”
Ngaringombe said if the sympathy was truly genuine, then the situation would not have been allowed to escalate to the point where the fishermen felt that going on strike was the only avenue available to them in order to address their deplorable working conditions.
He said it was not enough to simply say that the fired fishermen should have right of first refusal should new jobs become available. According to him, without an official commitment to develop a database of the fired fishermen for future job placements, the minister's statement is no more than wishful thinking.
“One cannot at this point help but wonder whether the fishermen who say that government's true sympathy lies with the politically connected elite who control and manage the fishing companies which continue to be awarded multi-million dollar fishing quotas, may be right. After all, actions do speak louder than words.”
ELLANIE SMIT
DTA secretary-general Manuel Ngaringombe said the government's sympathy should extend to tangible actions designed to return the fishermen to their jobs.
“A failure to do so would simply place further doubt on where the government's sympathy truly lies – with the politically connected fishing rights holders or with the countless fishermen and their families who have been left jobless and with no means to feed their families,” he said.
This follows after fisheries minister Bernard Esau recently castigated fishermen who had embarked on an illegal strike two years ago, saying they did not listen to the authorities.
He added that the government was sympathetic to their cause, and the fired fishermen should have first right of refusal when new jobs are advertised.
In October 2015, more than 4 000 fishermen went on strike at Walvis Bay and Lüderitz. The strike was declared illegal. The seamen demanded basic salary increases, higher medical aid benefits, overtime pay and housing allowances.
Most of them were fired from their jobs, while a few returned to work after the strike was declared illegal.
“The DTA believes that the Namibian people need to rally together and stand up and be counted. It is only once we rise together in unity and fight for the rights of fishermen and all those who have fallen victim to the crippling unemployment spreading through Namibia, that we will be able to not only sympathise but empathise with the fishermen and all other unemployed Namibians – young and old alike,” said Ngaringombe.
According to him, fishermen in Namibia have for many years raised concerns with their employers, the fisheries ministry and the labour ministry regarding unsafe and deplorable working conditions.
However, all their concerns and complaints fell on deaf ears, said Ngaringombe.
“It is therefore extremely perplexing to find Esau now telling fishermen that they did not listen and instead went on strike. Who listened to the fishermen when they aired their grievances on countless occasions?”
According to Ngaringombe the minister wanted to make it seem as if the fishermen's decision to go on strike during October 2015 was a “knee-jerk reaction”, when in fact it was borne out of frustration with not having their complaints addressed for many years.
He said the pretence now that had the fishermen not gone on strike their problems would have been addressed internally, was a complete shame when numerous attempts to do so internally were ignored by the fishing companies and the ministries of fisheries and labour.
“For Esau to now say that the government is 'sympathetic' to the cause of the more than 4 000 fishermen who lost their jobs when the same government ignored their concerns for so long, is completely insincere.”
Ngaringombe said if the sympathy was truly genuine, then the situation would not have been allowed to escalate to the point where the fishermen felt that going on strike was the only avenue available to them in order to address their deplorable working conditions.
He said it was not enough to simply say that the fired fishermen should have right of first refusal should new jobs become available. According to him, without an official commitment to develop a database of the fired fishermen for future job placements, the minister's statement is no more than wishful thinking.
“One cannot at this point help but wonder whether the fishermen who say that government's true sympathy lies with the politically connected elite who control and manage the fishing companies which continue to be awarded multi-million dollar fishing quotas, may be right. After all, actions do speak louder than words.”
ELLANIE SMIT
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