Christof Maletsky
14 April 2008
Windhoek — The Namibia Nurses' Union says it is still taking the Government to court to challenge the recognition agreement it has with the Namibia Public Workers' Union (Napwu).
Nanu Secretary General Abner Shopati told The Namibian that the Government had filed additional papers on the eve of their first appearance in court and thus delayed the first hearing of their Labour Court application to declare the agreement null and void.
"The Government has agreed that we have the majority of nurses but they also point out that they have an agreement with Napwu which represents all civil servants except teachers, Police officers and soldiers," Shopati said. According to him the Government's latest papers were just a formality, as the case will soon head to court. Nanu want to take up nurses' concerns about overtime payment but cannot do so until it is recognised by the Government. Before this, nurses have to vote on which union, Nanu or Napwu, they want to represent them. Nanu decided to take the court route after both the Labour Commissioner Bro-Mathew Shinguadja, and the Office of the Prime Minister advised them to do so.
They were told that the recognition agreement between the Government and Napwu could not be altered unless declared null and void by the Labour Court. The nurses had the option of a strike but Shopati said they preferred to go the legal route. The dispute was started by differences over payment for work done on Sundays and public holidays. The Nanu leadership decided to take Government to court following nationwide consultations with nurses on whether they should proceed with the action. The Ministry of Health reduced the rate of payment for nurses on Sundays and public holidays by half from April 1 in 2006. Previous Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula said earlier that it was done because there were various interpretations of the Labour Act, which had led to overpayment of nurses in the past. Government introduced a new system used by the Ministry of Finance, with calculations no longer done manually. It said the manual calculations had resulted in overpayment. Nanu is adamant that the Labour Act says the rate must be double the normal hourly rate.
However, before they engage Government on overtime payment, Nanu must be recognised and the Office of the Prime Minister has, so far, refused to talk to them because of the recognition agreement Government has with Napwu. The nurses' union claims it represents the majority of nurses and wants to negotiate their work conditions instead of leaving it to Napwu.
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