Namib Mills Strike Enters Second Week as Negotiations Stall

The strike at Namib Mills entered its second week on Monday, with workers remaining locked out of depots across the country. The company presented its “final offer” to the Namibian Revolutionary Transport and Manufacturing Union (Naretu), which represents the employees, last Wednesday. Namib Mills is offering salary alignment between workers, a minimum salary increase to N$4 100, and at least a 5% increase to all salaries, according to the latest Namib Mills offer dated 14 January. In addition, the company will contribute N$200 monthly to employees without access to staff transport. The company calculates that its total wage bill will increase by 10%, given the 5% increase on basic salary and additional concessions. However, Naretu commander-in-chief Petersen Kambinda says that figure is misleading. “On the issue of the 10%, what they are offering is only a 5% increase on basic salary,” Kambinda says. Naretu and the company are still unable to reach agreements on the particular issues of December bonuses and backpay. Naretu says one of its demands is that verbal warnings should not be considered when calculating bonus payouts. The workers notice an uptick in supervisor inspections and verbal warnings in the second half of the year, as supervisors are told to reduce December bonuses, Kambinda says. In its latest offer, Namib Mills said verbal warnings will not affect bonus payout. However, the offer also states that employees on strike will not receive their bonuses. “The company is using the bonus in order to punish the striking workers,” Kambinda said. Similarly, striking workers will receive only three months’ backpay, instead of the six months’ backpay for those who did not join the strike. Because Naretu included annual bonuses in the bargaining, it was not possible for bonuses to be paid out to striking workers, head of human resources Amorey Pote told The Namibian.