Thousands retrenched in three months
Only 22% of workplaces inspected by the ministry of labour, industrial relations and employment creation in the past quarter were Covid compliant.
A total of 3 484 employees, mostly women, were retrenched by 320 employers seekers from July until September, according to a quarterly report by the ministry of labour, industrial relations and employment creation.
The situation was exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak, which continues to cause a large number of retrenchments around the country.
The report further shows that a total number of 2 042 women have registered with the ministry during the period under review compared to 1 415 men.
During the three months, the ministry dealt with 1 546 labour dispute cases, of which 738 were resolved through conciliation, while 214 through arbitration.
This indicates that most people still prefer conciliation to settle labour disputes compared to arbitration. While the Labour Act provides for appeals and reviews against Arbitration Awards to the Labour Court, only 25 appeals were recorded during the reporting under review and three reviews were lodged with the Labour Court.
Employment Bureau
“Khomas and Erongo regions remain the employment hubs in the country, whereby a number of 437 and 305 vacancies were reported to the Employment Services Bureau respectively. In total, the ministry received 909 vacancy notifications during this period,” the report states.
“Interestingly, despite a satisfactory number of reported vacancies and vacancy notifications received, only 124 job seekers were placed for employment. This mismatch remains a concern. Therefore, job seekers must always ensure that they update their profiles to be more competitive,” it continued.
The ministry appealed to all designated employers, including the public service, to consider complying with the requirements of the Employment Service Act, which is the workplace inspections that determines the compliance level in terms of Occupational Health Safety and Basic Conditions of employment.
The report shows that the ministry inspected 218 workplaces for Covid-19 compliances, but the level of compliance was not satisfactory. Only 22% of places were found to be in compliance.
“The same non-compliance level in terms of Basic Conditions of Employment has been observed, whereby only 46% was found to be in good compliance,” the report added. – Nampa
The situation was exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak, which continues to cause a large number of retrenchments around the country.
The report further shows that a total number of 2 042 women have registered with the ministry during the period under review compared to 1 415 men.
During the three months, the ministry dealt with 1 546 labour dispute cases, of which 738 were resolved through conciliation, while 214 through arbitration.
This indicates that most people still prefer conciliation to settle labour disputes compared to arbitration. While the Labour Act provides for appeals and reviews against Arbitration Awards to the Labour Court, only 25 appeals were recorded during the reporting under review and three reviews were lodged with the Labour Court.
Employment Bureau
“Khomas and Erongo regions remain the employment hubs in the country, whereby a number of 437 and 305 vacancies were reported to the Employment Services Bureau respectively. In total, the ministry received 909 vacancy notifications during this period,” the report states.
“Interestingly, despite a satisfactory number of reported vacancies and vacancy notifications received, only 124 job seekers were placed for employment. This mismatch remains a concern. Therefore, job seekers must always ensure that they update their profiles to be more competitive,” it continued.
The ministry appealed to all designated employers, including the public service, to consider complying with the requirements of the Employment Service Act, which is the workplace inspections that determines the compliance level in terms of Occupational Health Safety and Basic Conditions of employment.
The report shows that the ministry inspected 218 workplaces for Covid-19 compliances, but the level of compliance was not satisfactory. Only 22% of places were found to be in compliance.
“The same non-compliance level in terms of Basic Conditions of Employment has been observed, whereby only 46% was found to be in good compliance,” the report added. – Nampa
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