Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Union leaders have questioned the government’s willingness to enforce labour laws.
Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA) secretary general Mahongora Kavihuha said he does not believe the ministry of justice and labour relations is serious about labour law enforcement.
He was reacting to the ministry’s announcement that 13 employers have been summoned for violating the Labour Act.
On Tuesday, the Employment Equity Commission (EEC) said the employers will appear before its review panel on 13 and 14 August 2025 for failing to comply with the Affirmative Action (Employment) Act, 1998. Members of the public may attend the hearings.
Ministry executive director Audrin Mathe said relevant employers, defined as those with 10 or more workers, are legally required to implement affirmative action measures and submit annual reports to the commission.
Although the employers in question submitted reports, they were rejected for not meeting the act’s requirements.
“Due to this non-compliance, the Commission issued summonses to address the deficiencies noted in the reports. It also retains the right to initiate criminal charges against employers for non-compliance, which constitutes offences under the Act,” Mathe said.
The summoned employers are Salt Company (Pty) Ltd, Precision Fuel Services cc, ministry of higher education, technology and innovation, Shilongo Leather Works cc, Na’an Ku Se Foundation, Inter Africa Security Services cc, Asco Car Hire & Explore Africa Travel (Pty) Ltd, Namibia National Training Organisation (Pty) Ltd, Court Helicopters (Pty) Ltd, Gmunder Lodge (Pty) Ltd, ministry of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform, Synergy Foods (Pty) Ltd, and the ministry of trade.
Kavihuha questioned whether the action was genuine or “lip service”.
He argued that ministries should not be summoned as employers and said the summons should have been directed to the office of the prime minister.
“We also need to know who is in the review panel. Does it include labour unions, or is it just people from the government going to face their other government colleagues?” he asked.
Namibia Revolutionary Transport Union (Naretu) leader Petersen Kambinda said the government lacks the will to enforce the law, allowing companies to take advantage.
He pointed to a shortage of labour inspectors, saying Windhoek has only eight for more than 2 000 companies.
“How do you expect those people to walk into every company and inspect if they are in compliance with the law? They can only do that if someone reports to them, but not all employees are aware of their rights in the workplace, and companies are exploiting that,” Kambinda said.
He added that some offences carry fines of up to N$1 million but result in penalties of less than N$10 000.
“If the offences are so big and the punishment is so lenient, do you expect these companies to be deterred? They will keep doing it because they know nothing will happen to them,” he said.
