Windhoek — The Government will take legal action against Ramatex, after the Malaysian company yesterday decided to close down its operations in Namibia at short notice.

Speaking to New Era yesterday, Prime Minister Nahas Angula said the textile company will not be let off the hook easily and will be expected to abide by all the procedures as stipulated in the Labour Act and Company Act of Namibia.

Angula said Ramatex has acted in bad faith because it had earlier agreed with the Government that it would give one year's notice before closing down but instead only gave a month's notice.

The Premier said the Government is still waiting to hear from Ramatex why it has decided to close down. If it claims bankruptcy, there are legal procedures that it needs to follow.

"They cannot just wake up in the morning and say they are leaving."

The Premier added that the company is laying-off workers but there are procedures as stipulated in the Labour Act that should be followed.

Angula said he held a meeting with officials from the ministries of Trade and Industry, Justice and Labour to look into the matter and to plan the way forward.

Close to 3000 Ramatex employees as of yesterday morning lost their jobs instantly when the textile company decided to shut down its operations after almost a decade in Namibia.

The non-suspecting workers, mostly young women, found the main gate to the textile company, which is situated on the outskirts of Windhoek closed when they reported for duty.

Instead of clocking in, the workers were greeted by a heavy presence of security forces, which included members of the Special Field Force, City Police, Namibian Police officials and traffic officials who had cordoned off the area, only allowing the employees to stand in front of the gate.

As union leaders and journalists moved in and out of the Ramatex premises, the stone-shocked employees wanted to know from them what was happening, as they were not on an industrial strike.

One employee, Hitjevi Toromba, who spoke to New Era said they were surprised by the lock-out and shocked that the company was closing down.

She noted that they had not noticed anything sinister at the company that might have suggested that they might lose the jobs. The only awkward thing that happened was that on Wednesday afternoon, the employers switched off the power and told them to go home because there was a power cut.

Some employees said they were informed on Wednesday evening by their shop stewards through sms that the company was closing down.

However, it appears it is only the workers who were not aware of the closure because Ramatex gave a month's notice to the Government, as well as the Labour Commissioner, of its intentions.

The situation at Ramatex was tense the entire day as law enforcement agencies, union leaders and Ramatex management contemplated whether or not to allow the workers into the premises to collect their belongings. The Namibian Police feared that the angry workers might vandalise the property and steal some of the materials and sewing machines belonging to the company. The police were also concerned that if they allowed the workers in, it would be very difficult to remove them from the premises afterwards. After long hours of negotiations, the workers were allowed to collect their personal belongings in small groups that the Namibian Police could easily control.

The National Union of Namibian Workers secretary general, Evilastus Kaaronda, who was at the scene the entire day, said it is a done deal and Ramatex is closing. He added that they are now meeting with the Ramatex management to negotiate exit packages for the employees.

Kaaronda said he does not want to spend his time on the blame game, on who was responsible for the mess at Ramatex. The Government should buy Ramatex and find suitable investors to run the company, he said.