NPTH closure: Anxious workers in limbo

With only a week left before Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings (NPTH) is dissolved, employees at the company have approached the Windhoek High Court in a bid to halt the process, amid calls for comprehensive consultations and for the closure plan to be delayed or even stopped altogether.The imminent dissolution of NPTH would see its 23 workers lose their jobs, though the wider impact is expected to “collapse their livelihoods”, leaving them unable to support their families and honour their financial obligations, the employees warn in the court application. Last month, NPTH chief executive officer Kristofine Naunyango delivered the devastating news that the company would cease all operations on 31 December.Today, employees are in court in a frantic bid to halt the process, citing fears that they will join the unemployment ranks while the company sits on an asset portfolio valued at N$15.6 billion.“The property portfolio and the assets of NPTH are healthy. It is therefore not clear why, in the face of a healthy balance sheet, the employees must be neglected and dismissed while the transfer of assets is being prioritised,” the employees state in court papers filed last week.Fretting about the future NPTH worker Bonafasia Hilzbecher, the company’s financial controller and the second longest-serving employee at the company, having joined in 1994 at the tender age of 21, underlined the feeling of distress among employees.“Many Namibians are on holiday with their families on farms, at the beach, at lodges, in the village, jovial about Christmas and the festive season. I and my fellow applicants are stuck in Windhoek. We are in limbo given the present circumstances. We live with extreme anxiety,” Hilzbecher notes in court documents. To prevent staff from becoming jobless as a result of the closure, NPTH announced that they would be transferred to its subsidiaries, Nampost or Telecom Namibia. But the workers expressed unease about the plan, citing an alleged lack of comprehensive consultations regarding their future.“Employees electing to be transferred to the subsidiaries will do so on a date and in a manner determined by the shareholder, in consultation with the subsidiaries. Such transfers will be subject to terms and conditions agreed upon between the subsidiaries and employees,” Naunyango wrote to the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) on 29 November 2024.She also assured the union that all due employee benefits will be settled in full.Anxious workersDespite the assurance, the employees, however, have raised concerns about how the closure is being handled.In a grievance letter written to Naunyango on 2 December, they outlined their collective frustrations. “While we acknowledge the legal and organisational changes outlined in the letters, we wish to highlight a critical omission. The letter fails to provide clear assurance regarding our absorption into the subsidiary companies,” the aggrieved workers stated.They specifically sought clarity on when they would be transferred to the subsidiaries and when their benefits would be settled. Additionally, they requested details about the employment conditions under which they would be contracted upon joining either of the subsidiary companies.“We regard this matter as a requisite that needs to be met in accordance with the guidelines of the NPTH Dissolution Act. We do not accept the notice of employment termination and demand its withdrawal until all pending matters have been resolved,” the workers said.Naunyango responded to the grievance by “pleading with staff members to remain patient and calm while the ministry pronounces itself”.The workers subsequently escalated the matter and roped in their legal team.Their lawyer, Appolus Shimakeleni, wrote to Naunyango on 6 December stating that “NPTH employees are disappointed in the matter in which this matter is being handled, in total disregard of their livelihoods and their well-being."“The last day of work is set for 31 December 2024, in circumstances where their date of commencement at the subsidiaries has not been set, technically leaving them on the street,” he argued. Shimakeleni is also demanding that closure plans be shelved until all employees have been transferred to the subsidiary companies.

NPTH closure: Anxious workers in limbo

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Namibian Sun 2024-12-25

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NPTH closure: Anxious workers in limbo

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Namibian Sun 2024-12-25

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