Labour firm, union at loggerheads

THE Namibian Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Nafau) has slammed labour hire company Africa Personnel Services (APS) for suspending a number of workers at Oshakati for allegedly staging an illegal strike.

On Thursday, APS notified Nafau of the company’s decision to suspend its workers employed at client company Namibia Beverages. The situation apparently stems from two weeks ago, when APS management called workers at Namibia Beverages’ Coca-Cola bottling plant to an emergency meeting.Workers were told to clear their lockers and refrain from using toilets and showers on the Namibia Beverages premises, Nafau claimed at a press conference in Windhoek on Friday.The union claims that the workers complied, but were suspended because they asked where they should place their belongings.”The suspension of employees who were mainly questioning as where could they put their belongings after they were unceremoniously ordered to do so is totally uncalled for and uncivilised to say the least,” Nafau Acting General Secretary Kiros Sackarias said.However, according to APS labour consultant Johannes Katemba, the decision to have employees clear their lockers came as a result of disputes between APS workers and fulltime staff at Namibia Beverages.APS employees had been accused of breaking the other workers’ lockers, Katemba told The Namibian yesterday.In addition, not all APS workers needed lockers, or needed to use the bathroom facilities at the Coca-Cola plant.”People in production need to use the showers, because they work with food.But truck helpers (who apparently participated in the strike) are not affected,” he said.Yet after the emergency meeting between APS management and employees, Katemba said even workers not affected by the company decision went on strike.”They were repeatedly told to go back to work,” he said.Katemba said the August 9 strike was the third illegal work stoppage in a year, and followed an agreement between the company and Nafau that another illegal strike could lead to the dismissal of participating employees.On Thursday, APS informed the workers and the labour union of its decision to charge its more than 90 employees at Coca-Cola with unlawful industrial action or illegal work stoppage.Nafau on Friday called for the withdrawal of the charges against the workers, urging the company to “sit around the table and look for an amicable solution”.The situation apparently stems from two weeks ago, when APS management called workers at Namibia Beverages’ Coca-Cola bottling plant to an emergency meeting.Workers were told to clear their lockers and refrain from using toilets and showers on the Namibia Beverages premises, Nafau claimed at a press conference in Windhoek on Friday.The union claims that the workers complied, but were suspended because they asked where they should place their belongings.”The suspension of employees who were mainly questioning as where could they put their belongings after they were unceremoniously ordered to do so is totally uncalled for and uncivilised to say the least,” Nafau Acting General Secretary Kiros Sackarias said.However, according to APS labour consultant Johannes Katemba, the decision to have employees clear their lockers came as a result of disputes between APS workers and fulltime staff at Namibia Beverages.APS employees had been accused of breaking the other workers’ lockers, Katemba told The Namibian yesterday.In addition, not all APS workers needed lockers, or needed to use the bathroom facilities at the Coca-Cola plant.”People in production need to use the showers, because they work with food.But truck helpers (who apparently participated in the strike) are not affected,” he said.Yet after the emergency meeting between APS management and employees, Katemba said even workers not affected by the company decision went on strike.”They were repeatedly told to go back to work,” he said.Katemba said the August 9 strike was the third illegal work stoppage in a year, and followed an agreement between the company and Nafau that another illegal strike could lead to the dismissal of participating employees.On Thursday, APS informed the workers and the labour union of its decision to charge its more than 90 employees at Coca-Cola with unlawful industrial action or illegal work stoppage.Nafau on Friday called for the withdrawal of the charges against the workers, urging the company to “sit around the table and look for an amicable solution”.