President of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), John Ndeutepo, says that in order to create a conducive labour environment for workers in the mining sector, there is a need for a paradigm shift…. companies try by all means to prevent its employees from being organised. Some even deny them their rights to freedom of association. It is a proven fact that one cannot make people work any longer; you will need to motivate workers in order for them to perform,” Ndeutepo added.

He said that the mining labour sector is faced with great challenges that calls for urgent change. One such challenge is the ability of unions to address labour issues involving contract and agency labour cases.
According to Ndeutepo, this phenomenon is rearing its ugly face again.
“A lot of mining companies are at it to exploit people together with the minerals. They either employ people on fixed term contracts or outsource certain functions of their business simply to reduce labour costs,” he said.
“This practice results in poverty jobs where employees of these contractors sometimes earn as little as 20% of the basic salary offered by the Eastern Platinum (EPL) holder for the same job. Government through beneficiary and empowerment programmes have encouraged outsourcing by multi nationals companies but has not properly legislated this process to prevent ulterior motives. Hence the mineworkers union is fighting a bitter battle to stop this practice. As it stands now citizens of the state are being exploited together with minerals of the state.”
Another concern that Ndeutepo said needs urgent attention is health and safety.
“Quite a significant number of mining companies are paying a lot of attention on legislated safety paperwork but there is no practical attention. A lot of companies boast about their safety systems forgetting that these systems require maintenance and application from the people.”…..