NBC, Napwu recognition agreement ends

The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation has ended its recognition agreement with the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu), after the union lost its majority support among employees of the public broadcaster.

In a letter dated 1 October, NBC director general Stanley Similo notified Napwu general secretary Petrus Nevonga that only 45,4% of NBC employees are still members of the trade union, and that it had therefore lost the majority on which its status as exclusive bargaining agent had been based.

Similo stated that as a result of this, the existing recognition agreement between the NBC and Napwu was being ended with effect from 1 October.

Similo quoted the agreement, which states that “if at any time during the life of this agreement the union fails to represent the majority of the staff members in the bargaining unit, the NBC may give the union notice to acquire a majority within three months”.

He noted that the NBC had written a letter to Napwu on 21 June to give the union three months to regain the majority, but the union did not achieve that.

Napwu’s support among NBC employees was dealt a blow after a seven-week strike by staff members of the broadcaster ended in late May this year without the corporation’s management caving in to striking employees’ demands.