Astute 1 A strike is a work shutdown caused by employees'' refusal to work. Strikes are sometimes used to pressure governments into changing policies. Whether a strike is lawful depends on the purpose of the strike. Most of the Government schools in Namibia closed on Thursday the 13th of October 2016, because of a teachers'' strike. Thursday morning the 13th of October, teachers throughout Namibia decided to embark on their 8% salary increment strike. This was brought about by a controversy between the Ministry of education and the Namibian teachers union (NANTU). The ministry offered 5% increment earlier this year, but the teachers union had other numbers in mind, which in turn ended up in a dispute.
As a student at an institution of higher learning, my stance on this issue is seen from a broad perspective. Government knew from the beginning that both learners and teachers have rights, yet the government didn''t consider anything and turned a blind eye to the issue.
Only now that the subject has been turned into a serious issue by the aggrieved party, has government decided to inform teachers to consider the learners, which, of course, makes sense, but is unfair to the teachers.
On the 6th October 2016, press release by the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) on the employment of volunteer teachers during the strike, the NUNW outlined that “we should not allow our constitutional rights to strike to be tampered with. All Namibians must respect the rights of workers to strike.
Teachers through their trade union NANTU have followed the procedures required to strike in terms of the labour laws of our country. These laws give them legal rights to strike and this should not be ignored. At the same time government has no choice, but to abide by the governing laws of the country.
“The Labour Act 2007 (Act 11 of 2007) for instance under Chapter 7 Section 76 (3a-b) clearly states that “an employer must not hire any individual, for the purpose, in whole or part, [for] performing the work of a striking or locked-out employee.” The law is clear on this matter, therefore it would be illegal for government to try and replace the workers on strike in any way.
“Namibia is a democratic country where everyone is [subject to] the rule of law, therefore no governing body is above the law,” the press release read.
The strike is no exception to disadvantages; one of the highlighted disadvantages is that it hinders the economy of the country from progressing due to the fact that government is left with no option, but to lend money from other sources of income. For example, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) state that for governments to be able to sustain and accommodate the needs of its citizens, it should listen to the need of the masses. The tax is an addition to the income tax and is applicable to individuals, sole proprietors and corporate enterprises. Another disadvantage is that, the strike has affected learners, slowly killing their morale. This discourages learners and can lead to high failure rates in the country, leading to a decline in the county''s economy.
Lastly on the disadvantages, I feel like it''s a waste of time, because the ministry will have to add additional days for the exam period and the exam outcomes may be delayed next year as well, due to the strike. I must admit that the “teachers strike” has affected learners harshly. The government took a risk and waited for the subject to get out of hand, I must say that the wait wasn''t worth it, because it threatened the education of our future leaders.
This scenario also has its own advantages. For instance, the increment of teachers'' salaries may make them able to afford houses by buying them with their housing allowances, since we all know that houses in Namibia are outrageously priced, meaning not all working government officials [and most other people in fact] can afford to buy them. Teachers will also be able to sustain their needs better than before. The government confidently took the issue to court, but the court''s findings were that the government''s application was frivolous, because it is asking the court to do something impossible, which is to stop a lawful strike. If the court had accepted the government''s plea, then it would basically mean that no public servant will ever be able to go on strike again.
This shows that teachers are not joking anymore; they want a serious commitment from government. They are serious about getting a salary increment from government.
Therefore, it''s high time that the governments sets aside its stubborn position on teachers'' lawful strike and grant them their wish for an 8% salary increase. This is because this is more than just an increment to teachers. To them, it''s slashed budgets, unsuitable workloads and oversized classes. They are confronted with larger class sizes, asked to do more with less government input, and then the threat of whether they can even secure a more generous living wage. Therefore, the government should stop praising teachers for their greatness on teachers'' day- they should be rewarded for their greatness with better pay.
*Lucia Gideon is a fourth year student studying towards a bachelors'' degree in Public Management at the University of Namibia.