Martin Endjala
Workers at the Northern Graphite Processing Namibia (Pty) Ltd Okurusu Mine near Otjiwarongo, in the Otjozondjupa region, are unhappy with the way their employer served them with a notice of retrenchment without formal notification.
David Katali, the worker’s spokesperson, told the Windhoek Observer yesterday that employees are devastated about the developments at the Canadian-owned mining company. He said during an interview that the notification they received did not follow the correct procedures.
“There is chaos at the workplace, in the sense that we woke up and went to work only to be told that today is our last day. This is inhuman, unconstitutional, inconsiderate, disrespectful and it is very detrimental to one’s well-being or to even comprehend,” he said.
The company verbally told the workers about the planned retrenchment on Tuesday and followed it up the next day with a written notice of retrenchment where employees will only work until the end of July.
In the Notice of Retrenchment, the company said that they are pausing the majority of the work on the project at this time as they complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) to solidify plans for the restart of the mine and construction of a processing plant for consolidated operations in 2024.
The notice letter that was distributed on Wednesday, was signed by the company’s Vice President of Human Resources, Sam Januarie.
The company said it is reviewing its current structure and identified that for the foreseeable future, it will only need a small staff to do care and maintenance along with some key skills to progress.
“We know that this is not what people were hoping to hear, but we plan to give everyone certainty about what this means for them specifically today,” said Januarie.
The company will be pausing the majority of the work and it will stop with all construction while maintenance and care activities will be done.
The company will, however, continue to undertake sampling activities and ship products to ensure it meets customer needs.
“We are anticipating about a six-month delay of construction, and currently projecting a re-start of the mine and commissioning of the mill in late 2024. This is a temporary pause in our Namibian plans and we will begin rehiring a team early in the new year that is timed to an anticipated resurgence in demand in the volume of graphite required to support the battery market,” explained Januarie.
The company will enter care and maintenance for its mine and plant, effective from 1 July 2023.
During this temporary cessation of operations, the company will continue with preparations for the Project to construct the plant at the Okanjande mine site.
“We regret to inform you that you are among the affected employees and that we are considering collectively terminating your services with Northern Graphite Processing Namibia (Pty) Ltd per Section 34 of the Labour Act (Act 1 1 of 2007), read the statement.
Employees’ last day in the service of Northern Graphite Processing Namibia (Pty) Ltd will be 31 July 2023.
Meanwhile, in a joint response letter to the verbal intent retrenchment, the workers said it saddens them as Northern Graphite Namibian employees to be in a position like this today, despite acknowledging the verbal notice of intent to retrench them.
They, however, demand answers about how the company arrived at the decision to retrench them and what process guided them. To achieve this, they have agreed that all communications on the retrenchment process be communicated to them collectively and no individual communications be done to any of them.
The workers further demand that all communications should, be made to the employee’s representatives with the focal person as David Katali.
They are further calling on the Company to collectively issue them with the written notice and not individually as indicated on Wednesday, the workers will also study and do consultations thereof.
The employees called for an immediate meeting on Wednesday to present their concerns and the notice of retrenchment to the Regions Chairperson, Marlyn Mbakera and Governor James Uerikua as well as the Labour Commissioner and the Company Representatives to address the matter.
During the meeting, Katali said that there was no outcome, except that consultations will continue and that the notice of retrenchment should be nullified.
Meanwhile, the company’s Vice President of Communications, Pav Jordan said that this decision is not a new one, but rather something they have been discussing in their financial statements for some time now as part of a plan to consolidate its mining and processing operations in Namibia in one location, which involves moving their mill to the Okanjande mine site in Otjiwarongo.
The move is said to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, improve its finances and facilitate the further expansion of the facility.
Jordan argued that this requires a different set of skills and therefore they are reorganizing their team to deal with the new scope of its project and operations, today and well into the future.
“We intend to re-staff in 2024, once we have completed the relocation of the facility and commissioned the facility to service customers,” said Jordan.
Moreover, employees’ full salary for July 2023 as per the notice will be paid out. They will not be required to attend work for July 2022.
The letter also serves the purpose of notice in terms of Section 30 of the Labour Act. For matters to proceed as smoothly as possible as well as afford workers the maximum time to search for alternative employment.
However, employees are not required to report for duty and will be paid their lieu of notice, as envisaged by Section 31 of the Labour Act.
During the following period, it will proceed to consult and negotiate on how to minimise the hardship or adverse effects which may come from this termination.
Workers will be notified of the dates envisaged during which they can deal with these matters.
In addition, the Company will also notify the Office of the Labour Commissioner under the requirements terms of Section 34 of the Labour Act.
The company assured workers that it will deal with this matter under the provisions of the Labour Act.
“Thank you, for being a dedicated, sincere, and dutiful employee during your tenure of service with the company. We hope that you will be able to secure a suitable position in any reputed organization with such a resourceful background,” read the company’s statement.
Northern Graphite is a TSX Venture Exchange-listed Canadian company focused on becoming a world leader in producing natural graphite and upgrading it into high-value products critical to the green economy including anode material for LiBs/EVs, fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies.
