Former Okapale fishermen unhappy with Iyaloo Women Group Investment

The former Okapale fishermen employed by the Iyaloo Women Group Investment, under the government redress programme, are accusing the company of unfair labour practices.

In a petition, read by Okapale fishermen chairperson Godfried Kuhanga on Friday, the 234 fishermen demanded the reinstatement of their colleague, Abisalom Hamunyela, who was allegedly unfairly dismissed.

“Your incompetent officer was and is at fault due to a lack of correct information sharing and not telling the truth. We are tired of all these lies and are giving the company seven working days to reconsider this, or we will continue to demonstrate at your office until the two line ministers resolve this matter.”

The fishermen called for the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation to investigate the issue of unfair dismissals in companies allocated governmental redress quotas.

They demanded a copy of the presentation made by the company to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources when they committed to employing the fishermen under the redress programme and threatened to approach the Anti-Corruption Commission if this is not done.

The employees further wanted clarity regarding the type of workers the company said it would employ, noting that they are fishermen but are working in the factory.

The workers also noted their unhappiness with a statement reportedly made by the company’s managing director, Annastasia Helao, on a Namibian Sun television programme, in which she said the company employed fishermen that went on an illegal strike.

“How do you allow yourself to work with illegal people? Annastasia Helao must know what we are facing and going through every day before coming up with speeches of the illegality of our strike. We did not ask for her intervention in our strike or any information, so this has nothing to do with her. We demand for her to respect the fishermen and for an apology for those very serious and hurtful accusations. “We lost 67 colleagues. She is rubbing salt on open wounds. We are men with dignity, with families and did not go on this strike on purpose,” Kuhanga said.

The fishermen further called for a meeting with the directors of the company to solve the issue of the amendment of their employment contracts as decided at a meeting on 12 April, which has not yet come into effect.

They requested that the fisheries minister not allocate fishing quotas for employment purposes to the company in future, especially if it involves the Okapale fishermen.

The petition was received by Lianah Bock, one of the company’s directors, who promised to channel it to the relevant authorities.

Helao could not be reached for comment yesterday.