Labour ministry concerned over non-payment of overtime
Over 1 000 labour complaints last quarter
The ministry has urged employers to honour their obligations to employees by paying what is rightfully due to them.
The labour ministry has identified a persistent lack of adherence to compensation for overtime and work carried out on Sundays and public holidays, among several other issues.
It also flagged adherence to collective agreements, prevention of unauthorised deductions from employee remuneration, proper provision of sick leave and the timely payment of remuneration as other challenges facing the sector.
In a quarterly report for June to September, the Office of the Labour Commissioner noted that the ministry dealt with 1 082 labour complaints during the quarter, primarily focused on unsettled remuneration.
“As a result, an amount of N$594 813 was collected by the ministry on behalf of the affected employees. Employers should adopt a manner of honouring their obligations by paying rightfully what is due to their employees,” it said.
It added that the ministry is in the process of developing the third national employment policy.
It has contracted the Labour Resource and Research Institute, with assistance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), to spearhead the policy’s development process, and has already submitted a draft situational analysis report.
“A validation workshop to this effect has already taken place,” the report added.
Pending cases
Furthermore, the ministry handled 2 048 labour cases, indicating an increase of 118 from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the office is faced with a backlog, managing to complete just 979 cases, or 48% of the total.
According to the report, the reasons for these delays include postponements by parties or arbitrators, ongoing negotiations and fully booked schedules of some arbitrators due to the ministry’s high caseload.
“This figure also includes cases which have been arbitrated (evidence already adduced) but the awards were not yet issued, cases which were conciliated but not yet arbitrated, and cases which were partly arbitrated.”
The report added that during the quarter under review, the ministry held a stakeholder consultation meeting with the technical working group (TWG) on the implementation of the national labour migration policy.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the previous quarter’s report on the implementation of the policy, with each institution presenting their report to the TWG.
One of the policy’s reported key achievements during the quarter is the launch of a 24-hour border operation at Mamuno on 1 April to further strengthen the smooth facilitation of movement of persons between Namibia and Botswana.
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It also flagged adherence to collective agreements, prevention of unauthorised deductions from employee remuneration, proper provision of sick leave and the timely payment of remuneration as other challenges facing the sector.
In a quarterly report for June to September, the Office of the Labour Commissioner noted that the ministry dealt with 1 082 labour complaints during the quarter, primarily focused on unsettled remuneration.
“As a result, an amount of N$594 813 was collected by the ministry on behalf of the affected employees. Employers should adopt a manner of honouring their obligations by paying rightfully what is due to their employees,” it said.
It added that the ministry is in the process of developing the third national employment policy.
It has contracted the Labour Resource and Research Institute, with assistance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), to spearhead the policy’s development process, and has already submitted a draft situational analysis report.
“A validation workshop to this effect has already taken place,” the report added.
Pending cases
Furthermore, the ministry handled 2 048 labour cases, indicating an increase of 118 from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the office is faced with a backlog, managing to complete just 979 cases, or 48% of the total.
According to the report, the reasons for these delays include postponements by parties or arbitrators, ongoing negotiations and fully booked schedules of some arbitrators due to the ministry’s high caseload.
“This figure also includes cases which have been arbitrated (evidence already adduced) but the awards were not yet issued, cases which were conciliated but not yet arbitrated, and cases which were partly arbitrated.”
The report added that during the quarter under review, the ministry held a stakeholder consultation meeting with the technical working group (TWG) on the implementation of the national labour migration policy.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the previous quarter’s report on the implementation of the policy, with each institution presenting their report to the TWG.
One of the policy’s reported key achievements during the quarter is the launch of a 24-hour border operation at Mamuno on 1 April to further strengthen the smooth facilitation of movement of persons between Namibia and Botswana.
[email protected]
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