Africa-Press – Namibia. ABOUT 75 employees currently working at Spar Katima Mulilo will be retrenched from 31 August.
ABOUT 75 employees currently working at Spar Katima Mulilo will be retrenched from 31 August.
This comes as the retailer’s new management has not agreed to continuing with them.
The branch is currently under the management of Karee Investment 169 (PTY) Ltd.
The termination letter of one month’s notice issued by Karee Investment on 25 July, which The Namibian saw yesterday, state: “With the sale of the business any agreement in relation to the transfer of employees could not be reached. The employer is left with no other option but to terminate the employment of all employees currently employed.”
In light of this, the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) yesterday held a press conference condemning the sudden retrenchment without any consultation with the union for possible solutions.
Zambezi regional acting coordinator of Nafau Lister Tawana said the union and Spar’s management discussed wages and conditions of employment on 27 July, but were informed the company suffers a lack of money.
“Hence they will retrench workers without any negotiations to address the adverse effects of retrenchment . . . It was not done in accordance with the Labour Act,” he said.
Tawana said the 75 employees are from poor backgrounds and were already working for low wages.
He said the union has attempted to engage the new investor in the hopes of minimising the effects of retrenchment, but the investor did not want to come to the table.
“Our government should bring these types of investors to order, because they are being unfair towards our people. They cannot decide not to take over the employees,” he said.
Shop steward Estarie Maluta yesterday said the workers were shocked to be informed of the shop’s closure, because it is running at a loss and the management is unable to pay their salaries.
“Prior to our retrenchment, we were not informed of anything to show the shop is not making its monthly targets.
“We were suffering without any benefits, and now they want to leave us only with this month’s salary. We are even doubting if they will pay us, because they are leaving the country,’ she said.
Nadia Mbala, another employee, said: “It’s really bad to be without a job during this economic crisis. I could already not afford much with a salary.”
Spar Katima Mulilo’s branch manager, who only identifies himself as ‘Nagesh’, yesterday declined to comment and referred the media to his superiors based in Botswana.
This comes as the retailer’s new management has not agreed to continuing with them.
The branch is currently under the management of Karee Investment 169 (PTY) Ltd.
The termination letter of one month’s notice issued by Karee Investment on 25 July, which The Namibian saw yesterday, state: “With the sale of the business any agreement in relation to the transfer of employees could not be reached. The employer is left with no other option but to terminate the employment of all employees currently employed.”
In light of this, the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) yesterday held a press conference condemning the sudden retrenchment without any consultation with the union for possible solutions.
Zambezi regional acting coordinator of Nafau Lister Tawana said the union and Spar’s management discussed wages and conditions of employment on 27 July, but were informed the company suffers a lack of money.
“Hence they will retrench workers without any negotiations to address the adverse effects of retrenchment . . . It was not done in accordance with the Labour Act,” he said.
Tawana said the 75 employees are from poor backgrounds and were already working for low wages.
He said the union has attempted to engage the new investor in the hopes of minimising the effects of retrenchment, but the investor did not want to come to the table.
“Our government should bring these types of investors to order, because they are being unfair towards our people. They cannot decide not to take over the employees,” he said.
Shop steward Estarie Maluta yesterday said the workers were shocked to be informed of the shop’s closure, because it is running at a loss and the management is unable to pay their salaries.
“Prior to our retrenchment, we were not informed of anything to show the shop is not making its monthly targets.
“We were suffering without any benefits, and now they want to leave us only with this month’s salary. We are even doubting if they will pay us, because they are leaving the country,’ she said.
Nadia Mbala, another employee, said: “It’s really bad to be without a job during this economic crisis. I could already not afford much with a salary.”
Spar Katima Mulilo’s branch manager, who only identifies himself as ‘Nagesh’, yesterday declined to comment and referred the media to his superiors based in Botswana.
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