Business Reporter
WORKERS of the State-Owned Enterprise, the Road Contractors Company (RCC), clashed with their Interim CEO, Maria Nekale, after the workers handed in a petition accusing Nekale of running the RCC like her personal business and perpetuating unfair labour practices, such as fixed-term employment contracts and nepotism.
The workers, represented by the Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU), complained in their petition that the company had unilaterally reduced employees’ leave days to 12 days without any negotiations with the union and the employees, thereby violating the Labour Act of 2007.
Furthermore, the employees demanded that the company should pay out all outstanding leave days to the current and former employees who have been affected by this change upon retirement or resignation, and that the accrued leave days be reinstated.
In the petition, the employees also addressed the unfairness of fixed-term employment, stating that the RCC has various employees in its employment for periods of up to 10 years, whereas these employees are only given six-month contracts, even though the company has projects that exceed such durations.
In comparison, the workers complained that the RCC board of directors have three-year contracts while the workforce gets a mere six months. They opined that the six-month contracts are a tool used by management to victimize employees, making them fear non-renewal of their contracts upon expiry, as it has been the case in the past when three senior manager contracts were not renewed, and their positions were filled without advertisements.
Additionally, the employees also raised concerns about the unilateral change of field allowance. They reported that the RCC unceremoniously stopped paying field allowances for four months to the camp watch and Bitumen Unit (BMU) employees under the directive of the interim CEO.
Touching on alleged obnoxious actions of management, the employees reported that the CEO, Nekale, sought assistance from the Namibian police and had one of the workers temporarily detained at the Klein Windhoek police station and interrogated for four hours on baseless accusations of theft without following normal company internal processes.
The workers further revealed that the RCC staff complement has risen from 174 to more than 200, while management has been providing false narratives to the board and shareholders, stating that the company is technically insolvent and that there is a need to reduce staff. This is happening while the workers allege that the CEO has been recruiting her inner circle staff without advertising positions.
They further questioned why the CEO employed a personal assistant, as well as other middle management and senior management staff, at market-related salaries, despite the directive in place from the line ministry, the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprise, which puts a hold on employing more workers due to the dire financial situation the company finds itself in. The workers demanded to know how much has been spent on these recruitments. The employees also demanded salary increments, coupled with the company’s salary structure, for them to be able to match the current market rates for new employees’ salaries.
Leave a Reply