Namibia: Govt Fishermen Fear Job Losses

Fishermen facing the termination of the Government Employment Redress Programme say they are uncertain about their futures.

Johanna Enkono, a worker at Hangana Seafood, says employees have spent years in the programme without clarity on what they stand to gain from it.

"The programme is coming to an end, but we did not benefit anything from it," she says.

"We don't know what we're going to take home, we don't know what is the way forward for us."

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Ruben Twamoneni of Aluhe Fishing says the planned termination is particularly worrying for workers aged between 55 and 60, many of whom still have families to support.

He says the decision was being made at a time when unemployment was already high, making it difficult for workers who lose their jobs to find alternative employment.

"We need better engagement, so that now we can start to engage our leader, further negotiations, so that if anything needs to be changed, something needs to be changed through the negotiation," Twamoneni says.

The workers' concerns have been formally raised by the Mining, Metal, Maritime and Construction Workers Union, which is demanding that the government halt the termination process until outstanding issues are addressed.

In a statement read by union secretary general Joseph Garoeb at Walvis Bay on Saturday, the union says workers had not been meaningfully consulted about the decision to end the Government Employment Redress Programme (Gerp) on 31 October.

"We therefore demand genuine, inclusive and meaningful engagement with the affected employees and their representatives before the termination process proceeds," the statement reads.

The programme was launched in late 2020 to reintegrate more than 2 000 former and retrenched fishermen into the workforce, particularly those affected by the 2015 illegal strike and the Fishrot corruption scandal.

In a letter dated 25 September, the agriculture and labour ministries inform fishing companies that the programme will end on 31 October, citing a performance audit that finds it unsustainable.

The ministries say companies absorbing Gerp workers into permanent employment should not lay them off during the first 12 months.

Participating companies could also receive a hake freezer quota of eight tonnes per worker within their commercial quota.

The letter further states that workers aged 55 and older, as well as those choosing to leave the programme, must receive an ex gratia payment of at least N$96 000 before a company is licensed.

Failure to pay could result in the withdrawal of the quota.

However, the union wants the government to explain how severance pay will be calculated. It is demanding six weeks' pay for each of the programme's six years and written clarification of the proposed calculation method.

The workers are also seeking transparency on the commercial value of fishing quotas allocated through the programme and the benefits generated from them.

The union has raised concerns over reports that some companies are pressuring workers to sign retrenchment letters before their existing contracts expire.

It is calling for such practices to stop and for clarity on employment conditions, including the 'no work, no pay' arrangement.

The workers want an urgent meeting with the government and relevant stakeholders before the programme ends.