Wage talks on hold at TransNamib Namibia Transport and Allied Workers'' Union (Natau) general secretary John Kwedhi told Namibian Sun that he was pleased that the TransNamib management and workers amicably settled the issue of a 13th cheque which will now be paid to the workers on Friday.“The union was not involved because the issue was an internal matter that had to be solved between management and workers'' leaders,” he said.
However, he added that his union and TransNamib have a conditional agreement which makes provision for wage increase and working condition negotiations every year. At the moment, he said, wage increase talks are off the table because they still need to be briefed by management regarding TransNamib''s finances.
“At the moment, everything is on hold. We are waiting for management to brief us so that we can discuss the way forward.”
On Tuesday, deputy works minister Sankwasa James Sankwasa assured the TransNamib workers that their 13th cheque would be paid “latest by Friday this week”.
“The money is there, you will get the 13th cheque,” said Sankwasa.
He asked TransNamib''s employees to remain patient while the government tries to pay them their money.
“Government will not abandon TransNamib,” said Sankwasa.
Sankwasa said there was a difference between TransNamib''s bonus and the performance bonus offered by the parastatal. He said the employees were entitled to bonus payments and that it was their “right” to receive their bonus payment. He however stated that performance bonuses are paid based on their performance at the company and when they meet performance goals assigned to them by the company. He said TransNamib should work on performance bonus contracts for their employees.
Employees who had the opportunity to speak to the deputy minister said they were disappointed that the company management did not notify them that they would not be getting their bonus at least 24 days in advance as stipulated by TransNamib''s internal policy. This follows after it was announced to employees on 23 November, two days before payday, that their bonus payment for the month of November would be delayed.
SHONA NGAVA