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Namibia: Skorpion Workers Face Lockout
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
22 May 2008
Posted to the web 22 May 2008
Luqman Cloete
Windhoek
Although workers at the Skorpion Zinc Mine suspended wage negotiations and a week-long strike on Tuesday, the company management yesterday notified the union of its intention to lock out employees in the bargaining unit from its operations.
In a letter seen by The Namibian, the company management said the decision was taken because of the parties' failure to break a deadlock in wage negotiations. "The company is compelled to take this action to resolve the dispute and implores the union to continue discussions in this regard," the letter stated. The wage negotiations started in October last year. Yesterday, the Rosh Pinah branch chairman of the Mineworkers' Union of Namibia (MUN), Michaeleno Kadhikwa, told The Namibian that the company's intended actions caught the union by surprise.
He said the union decided to end both the strike and negotiations. This he said was done to involve "a third party" in the wage negotiations. "Both the union and company refused to budge, maybe a third-party involvement will result in a breakthrough," he said. Kadhikwa would not name the third party. Before the strike was called on May 12, a delegate from the Labour Commissioner's Office was involved in the negotiations. Karas Governor Dawid Boois also joined the negotiating table last week in an attempt to end the strike. The workers are prepared to settle for a 12 per cent wage increase plus a monthly housing allowance of N$1 780 offered by the company.
However, Kadhikwa said the union rejected the company's offer because it was linked to a condition that the workers endorse the mine's application for continuous operations status. Kadhikwa said the company's offer would automatically waive overtime payments for work on holidays and weekends.
He added that the condition would also affect a legal battle in the Labour Court over overtime payments. "We're willing to sign a mandate that would give the company a continuous operations status, but on condition that workers receive overtime payments for work on weekends and holidays," he said. Kadhikwa also accused the company management of victimising strikers, adding that some workers were disciplined upon their return to work yesterday, while four others were suspended because they had been on strike.
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Skorpion's General Manager, Gerald Boting, yesterday declined to comment. The Skorpion Zinc Mine, located about 20 kilometres outside Rosh Pinah, produces 150 000 tonnes of zinc a year.
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