Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Public Service Union of Namibia (PSUN) wants the Roads Contractor Company (RCC) to stop further deductions from employees’ salaries until the two parties have reached an agreement.
This comes after the RCC effected deductions to recoup money that was paid to employees as fuel allowances in the past.
PSUN secretary general Ndjizuvee Haakuria on Friday told Desert Radio 95.3 FM the deductions were not fairly made and were causing a toxic working environment at the company.
“We want the deductions to stop. As a union our sympathies are with the company, and we want it to survive so our members’ jobs are secure, however, we want the deductions to stop,” he said.
Haakuria said the deductions came after the RCC stopped offering employees fuel allowances, suspecting the system was being abused.
“Various categories of workers who qualify for this benefit have different limits on the amount of fuel they can use per month, and instead of using the fuel card, they go on their trips, and at the end of the month they bring receipts of the amount of fuel they have used, and then they reinvest,” he said.
Haakuria said the deductions started last month after the company suspected some employees were abusing its fuel facility.
“Suddenly this year the new board made a decision and the chief executive officer (CEO) implemented it. They say all those claims that were processed since then were fraudulent, and whoever benefited should pay it back,” he said.
“We engaged the CEO to communicate to the board that we are not in agreement. The members also engaged individually to tell the CEO not to push ahead with the decision, because they do not agree that their claims were fraudulent.”
Haakuria said despite the RCC board agreeing to stop deductions, the CEO continued to implement them.
The PSUN last week demanded that acting CEO Maria Nakale be removed from her position.
“Whether employees have committed fraud has not been established, as no legal process has been engaged in to determine this,” Haakuria said.
Nakale last week said the board’s decision to deduct money from employees’ salaries was guided by the company’s policy.
“This did not just start yesterday. They were given more than a month to give proof and validate their claim that they were in line with the policy,” Nakale said.
She said evidence that employees used their money for fuel at work is not available.
“The board never stopped anything. The board said if you are claiming, the claim should be in line with the provision of the policy, and the policy is very clear on who can claim for fuel, and which documents they can use for the claim,” she said.
Nakale said a log book of the distance covered on the RCC business trips must be provided, as well as service station receipts.
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