Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA’S Labour Act of 2008 makes no provision for a mandatory retirement age.
The issue has come into sharp focus as employees of the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida) are refusing to accept a proposed retirement age of 60.
While many institutions chose 60 or 65 as the retirement age, the Labour Act does not impose a compulsory retirement age outside the public service.
The norm currently allows employers to set their own retirement age.
Trade Union Congress of Namibia secretary general Mahongora Kavihuha says there is nothing irregular about Nida setting a retirement age of 60 years, as there is no retirement age in Namibia.
“The Labour Act is very clear, there is no retirement age in Namibia. The retirement age people refer to as 60 is for the public service as per Section 5 of the Public Service Act of 1995,” he says.
Kavihuha says the retirement age cannot be extended to other employers unless stated in their policies.
“The Labour Act itself does not have age limits. It goes further to say when someone reaches 65, and that person wants to resign, that person must not be punished. The Labour Act says the time when a person becomes tired is from 65 and above,” he says.
Kavihuha says the Labour Act allows non-government employees to retire at 65 years of age.
Labour expert Herbert Jauch adds to this by saying: “What the act does state is that when someone retires at 65, they are entitled to a severance package of one week’s pay for each year of service,” he says.
Jauch says retirement policies are set internally and must be respected in the private sector and state-owned enterprises by both employers and employees.
“Such policies often aim to create opportunities for younger employees to enter the workforce,” he says.
Labour Resource and Research Institute director Michael Akuupa says retirement policies vary between institutions.
“For example, at the University of Namibia, the retirement age for academic staff is 65, based on the statutes governing the university,” he says.
Nida employees recently demanded that their employment contracts state their retirement age as 65.
The employees signed the contracts under Offshore Development Company (ODC) and Namibia Development Corporation (NDC), which merged in 2018 to form Nida.
Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union deputy general secretary Willem Absalom says employees nearing 60 were last month told to sign a new contract that would send them home immediately.
“Their employment contracts with ODC and NDC say the retirement age is 65, but now Nida came with a policy that says 60. They wanted the employees to sign the contract and they refused,” he says.
Absalom says this action is unfair as the employees are not prepared to retire now.
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