Lack of trash leads to job losses

Namibia’s leading recycling company Rent-A-Drum Namibia has confirmed the implementation of a retrenchment exercise, citing a decline in recycling business operations and highlighting the challenges faced by the industry in the current economic climate.

The Namibian recently reported that Rent-A-Drum is retrenching 21 employees from its Swakopmund operations after the company’s contract with the Swakopmund municipality for household recycling collections expires on 30 May (today).

Rent-A-Drum human resources manager Tertius Woensdregt said this would lead to a decrease in operations and ultimately, the need to restructure the workforce.

“Yes, we did have to implement a retrenchment exercise recently, but it was limited to some recycling departments. The reason behind it was a decline in our recycling business operations. We had to make some tough choices to ensure our company remains sustainable in the recycling industry.

“I can confirm that only a certain number of employees in those departments were affected,” he said.

Woensdregt said the company encountered added difficulties due to low recycling commodity prices, increased diesel prices, and a lack of export markets for some recycling products.

The company exports most of its recyclables to South Africa where the economy is struggling due to load-shedding.

“These factors significantly impacted the company’s revenue and profitability, prompting the implementation of cost-cutting measures,” he said.

Woensdregt noted that despite the challenging circumstances, Rent-A-Drum managed to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic without resorting to workforce reduction measures.

He said the decision to undertake retrenchments was not taken lightly,and highlighted the gravity of the situation faced by the recycling department.

In response to concerns raised about potential discrimination against employees who switched labour unions, Woensdregt said the retrenchment wasn’t targeted at employees who left the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union to join another labour union.

“We respect our employees’ rights to choose their union affiliation and don’t discriminate based on that. We have a recognition agreement with the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union and work closely with them to ensure our employees’ well-being and rights are protected,” he said.