Africa-Press – Namibia. ABOUT 10 security officers from Splash Security Services came together on Monday to denounce their company for allegedly mistreating, underpaying and threatening employees.
One of the guards, Wilbard Nghifikwa, said they opted to expose the mistreatment because they’ve had enough of the abuse from their employer.
“This is not the first time we are speaking out, we previously reported our issues to the Office of the Labour Commissioner, and the company signed a settlement agreement which they failed to respond to,” he said.
Nghifikwa claims they don’t receive their salaries on time, and they do not receive compensation for working overtime.
“In the 30 days that we work, six days are automatically deducted and not paid for. When you are caught sleeping, N$300 gets deducted from our salaries,” he said.
The employees also complain that the company conducts unfair patrols in order to deduct money from their salaries.
“The driver does not hoot rather they inspect silently, and that means if he finds you in the toilet you will get deducted for that,” Nghifikwa said.
Another employee, Martha Nghifikwena, also complained that they do not paid in full.
“We have seen employees who get suspended for speaking up about their full payment, and when the rest of us try to raise the issue we get suspension threats.
“We came here because we have had enough, we are tired of suffering and we are going to speak up on what really happens,” she said.
Nghifikwena also said there are no fixed salaries, even when working a full month.
“Your January salary will not be your February salary, even after working with no off days or any deductions,” she said.
The security company signed a settlement agreement through their union, the Namibia Security Workers Union (NSWU), with 92 employees including ex-employees, in October 2022,
The settlement agreement stipulated that the company will reconsider unlawful deductions through the time sheets, and any such deductions will be refunded.
The document further stated that public holidays will soon be paid for.
The employer will consider 12 months payments, including public holiday payments, as by proof of time sheets for the workers.
This was promised to be worked out in November 2022.
“Sick leave, compassionate leave, annual leave and maternity leave are paid according to the Labour Act. Employees who already went on such mentioned leave will be paid at the end of the month.”
However, the employees claim there have not been any changes since the complaint to date.
The Namibian reached out to the owner of Splash Security Service, Renard Kando, who denied all allegations.
“There was a bit of miscommunication between the workers and the secretary who was on maternity leave,” he said.
He maintained that all misunderstandings were resolved in a meeting with the union.
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