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TransNamib says employee strike ‘unlawful’

TransNamib says employee strike ‘unlawful’

In the absence of employee salary increment in 2017, and stalled wage negotiations this year due to the company’s much reported governance issues, employees at TransNamib are taking industrial action.

However, after learning that employees are conducting industrial action at certain work premises of the company, TransNamib CEO, Johny Smith, issued a special address alerting staff members that their planned strike is unlawful.

Smith said that the industrial action is illegal under the Labour Act, Act No. 11 of 2007, and is also not permissible under TransNamib’s policies.

“This development is in contrast with Management’s attempts in setting new lines and tones of communication with employees whilst strengthening the existing communication structures,” TransNamib said in a statement.

The company threatened that any industrial action right now will only serve to undermine exactly what employees are looking for, which is a salary increment.

The company also claimed that at the time of the statement release, no letter from the group of employees containing specific demands has been presented to management, adding that this needs to be viewed in the context of the struggling Namibian economy as a whole.

According to the statement, TransNamib has consulted with the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers Union (NATAU) about this development, stating that the union has distanced itself from the industrial action and the associated employees.

Meanwhile, in order to bridge the gap between the Board and Management, the Minister of Transport and Works held a meeting between the Board and CEO at the line ministry’s offices last week.


About The Author

Donald Matthys

Donald Matthys has been part of the media fraternity since 2015. He has been working at the Namibia Economist for the past three years mainly covering business, tourism and agriculture. Donald occasionally refers to himself as a theatre maker and has staged two theatre plays so far. Follow him on twitter at @zuleitmatthys