OF all the crap Namibian politicians have saddled us with, this latest round of bloodcurdling stuffing of the worker has been particularly baffling for me.

Just when I weaned myself off the cheap wine and excessive swearing, I found myself having to deal with the advent of August 1. With the start of dust and wind season, the new labour law blew into town. In true Namibian style it went all arse over tit. Gatoorkop to the extreme.

Workers who were employed through labour-hire companies suddenly became casualties of a poorly constructed law, instead of the job security promised when 'casual labour' was banned last week.

While the politicians were probably trying, for once, to make sure that the few Namibians with some semblance of employment have job security, their plan, as always, caused the exact opposite.

If it wasn't so damn sad I might have managed a chuckle. The sad part of it all is that they never saw it coming.

With half of Namibia's employable people unemployable and therefore... surprise, surprise... unemployed, Ngatjizeko et al manage to put thousands more on the street with their grand plan.

Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Immanuel Ngatjizeko was not happy with those who opposed changes in the labour law, saying some employers still treat black workers like slaves.

I agree but it's these guys who now laugh at you and your comrades. Think before you moer people with a law!

I have no love for the labour hire companies. Especially the ones run by former trade unionists. How do you evolve from an advocate for workers' rights to a trafficker of workers? Hope their bulging pockets take a huge knock.

It's for the guys who had a job, rubbish as the pay may be, who I really am angry about. Maybe it was the plan of the politicians all along. I mean, to get more workers out of a job, and to negotiate those lucky enough to still be hired, a smaller pay package! Yipeee! What an awesome plan!

First they gave all the construction contracts to their friends from the East. The Rambler is not a xenophobe but these great men from the East pay their workers like crap.

N$3,50 an hour for an artisan?

That's next to fokkol, especially if you get it by the end of the day. After paying the taxi to get home, you only have enough to take a taxi back to work the next day. This is a joke. No, not the fact that I mention it but the fact that it is a fact. At least the Chinese are good for the taxi industry.

Government is aware of the status quo but it's like the men from the East are untouchable.

But fear not! TIPEEG will arrive on a cloud from its hiding place somewhere in the Omatako Mountains, swoop down and provide every unemployed Namibian with a long term, well paying, dignified job.

Oh sorry, I forgot. That shit only resides in the heads of some politicians. OK, so I had a swearing relapse. Sue me! Tell me you didn't let rip when you saw the headline '7 000 casuals on the streets'.

Apparently the labour- hire industry has more than 10 000 casual workers, and will be forced to let go of over 7 000. And not a word from the union leaders for over a week? What do you expect from trade unionists with their cannibalistic tendencies who want to retrench their own staff, are in cahoots with unscrupulous employers who cancel workers' contracts and reappoint them for a fraction of the original salary package, and have not made a notable positive contribution to the plight of workers in a long time.

And the workers are still paying these useless bunch of dimwits.

Sadly, the workers have become useful only for their membership fees and voting power at trade union congresses. Some major unions don't even bother holding a congress. Their 'leaders' know that the workers are lethargic, apathetic and uninformed, and they want to keep it that way - exploited by unions, governments and employers.

I've said it once, I've said it a million times. The Namibian worker is fast becoming an endangered species.