Ministers panic as strike looms

Labour minister Utoni Nujoma and his education counterpart Anna Nghipondoka have voiced concerns over a national shutdown emanating from a strike by civil servants across all industries, with the latter telling teachers to “think about the children”.

Nghipondoka reminded teachers that learners have already gone through a rough patch during the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw a rise in teenage pregnancies and disrupted learners’ access to daily meals though a school feeding scheme.

According to her, this programme benefits more than 400 000 learners around the country and many of the youngsters accessing school feeding rely on this as their only meal of the day.

During a press briefing yesterday, the minister said if a strike is to take place, the impact of school closures will be severe and traumatic for learners who had just returned from a long holiday.

She also pointed out the potential financial losses government will incur if school hostels close, with food set to perish. She also highlighted the financial losses that could occur if national examinations are affected.

According to Nghipondoka, the national examination timetables are already with various schools and in the event of a strike, exams will be affected, which will result in a delay of results and will impact learners’ registration at tertiary education institutions or other schools.

Catastrophic

“This will also have massive financial implications. The year 2022 is the first year of relative normalcy our learners have experienced, with the structure restored to their day, and their ability to participate socially and physically in school activities on a regular basis back into place. The abrupt closure of schools can be traumatic for our learners who have been missing school and yearning for a return to their normal routine.

“Our learners cannot lose any more teaching and learning time. Learning loss within all phases, and particularly for grades taking national examinations, will be catastrophic and might take a long time to recover,” she pleaded.

Another concern is also that hostel accommodation for learners will be disrupted in the event of a strike as some teachers also supervise those learners living in hostels.

“The ministry has entered into agreements with hostel caterers and the food items are perishable, thus there will be a great loss in financial resources, which will be claimed from government. Parents can demand their learners should be in the hostel, as they have paid their hostel fees,” she said.

Consequences

Nghipondoka’s remarks come after Nujoma announced yesterday that they cannot meet the demand set by civil servants, and pointed out that a potential strike will have consequences.

“We recognise the right of employees in terms of the law to exercise their right to go on strike, however, under these circumstances, the employer is under no obligation to remunerate any of the employees in the industrial action. “Government throughout the negotiations has been very open, accommodating and transparent with the trade unions in terms of its financial position and the difficulties the country faces,” he said.

He further highlighted that government’s position is influenced by the economic and financial situation of the country and state finances - which remain stretched to meet expenditure, including the existing wage bill.

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