Windhoek — UGLY scenes nearly erupted at Namib Mills on Friday after the company ferried in about 40 casual labourers from Rundu in the Kavango Region to do the work of striking employees.

The move angered the strikers so much that they threatened the company with "serious action" if the "illegal practice" was not halted immediately.

"We are not going to allow this practice to continue, it amounts to a criminal offence," charged the acting Secretary General of the Namibia Wholesale and Retail Workers Union (NWRWU), Joshua Mabuku.

According to the Labour Act, an employer is not allowed to recruit new staff to do the work of employees who are engaged in a legal industrial action.

The recruits from Rundu feared for their lives when they realised that they were trapped in the "war" between Namib Mills and its regular employees.

"We want to work but it's very dangerous for us. You see those people [the striking workers] are very angry, they can easily harm us," complained 27-year-old Shatipamba Hawala, who told The Namibian that he was lured from Rundu with promises of a job in a security company.

He said his group was transported by bus from Rundu on Tuesday, and when they arrived in Windhoek they were given VO Security t-shirts and told to wait.

"To the surprise of all of us, the following day we were brought here [to Namib Mills] where we had work in the factory and others loaded trucks [for] almost 24 hours," Hawala complained.

When The Namibian visited the scene on Friday, the tired-looking Rundu group was still in front of the Namib Mills gates, not knowing exactly what their fate would be.

One of them remarked that: "All that we want is [for] these people to pay us for the days that we worked and take us back home ... it's clear they recruited us under false pretences."

Workers at Namib Mills went on strike three weeks ago after annual wage negotiations with the company reached a deadlock.

The workers demand an increment of 10,5 per cent for salaries and N$50 for housing, while the company only offers an eight per cent wage increase and a N$15 housing allowance.

Contrary to a recent announcement by the company management that only 120 of its 200-strong workforce were on strike, the workers maintain that they have all downed tools.

The defiant strikers have been camping in front of the company premises to ensure that no production takes place, and have vowed to maintain the pressure.

"We will stay put until our demand is met, if need be Christmas will find us here," vowed Mabuku.

Namib Mills management was not immediately available for comment, as they were said to be locked in negotiations with workers' representatives and officials from the Labour Commissioner's office.