Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma says the government resolved 3,108 labour cases out of 4,378 laid with the Ministry, translating to 68% of complaints presented to the Labour Commissioner in the first three quarters of the financial year 2022-2023.
The Minister, who was delivering his annual address on Monday, said 343 cases were declared disputed and referred to the Labour Commission for dispute resolution mechanism and only 298 were not resolved due to various reasons.
Additionally, 2,213 cases were resolved at conciliation and arbitration, whilst 68% were settled at the conciliation stage.
Nujoma added that a total of 2,315 workplace inspections were conducted, of which 1,494 inspections were to verify compliance with basic conditions of employment and 821 inspections were to verify compliance with occupational safety and health standards.
Furthermore, a total of 1,091 (73%) inspections for Conditions of Employment across different sectors were rated and found to be in good compliance, while 363 (44%) inspected workplaces were found to be in good compliance with health and safety legislation.
“Five compliance orders were issued for non-compliance, three for non-compliance with occupational safety and health standards, while two for non- compliance with the basic conditions of employment. Two notices of closure/stoppage of activities were issued for serious contravention with health and safety standards. The total of notifications of two (2) fatal accidents and two (2) major accidents were received and investigated, of which reports were produced, companies reported to comply and some submitted to the Prosecutor-General for further decision,” he said.
Nujoma noted that a total of 3,835 labour related complaints/issues across all regions and from different sectors of which Labour Inspectors have investigated/inspected, mediated and ensured compliance in order to bring about changes of operation and/or recover the money due to complainants.
As a result, N$ 2,558,228.06 has been collected on behalf of the complainants and paid to the respective complainants.
The money collected represents labour dispute claims of as many as several thousand workers.
Meanwhile, the Ministry facilitated the placement of 806 jobseekers whose CVs matched the job profiles as advertised by Relevant Employers on the Jobseekers’ system called Namibia Integrated Employment Information System.
“These are significant achievements. However, in each year, a large percentage of cases were carried over to the next year, due to many reasons, including postponements to accommodate the schedules of private legal practitioners and labour consultants, and staff turnover. The system of alternate dispute resolution under the Labour Commissioner was designed to provide speedy and cost-effective resolution of labour disputes,” said Nujoma.
He called on the office of the Executive Director to explore and implement options for reorganisation in order to maximise the capacities and talents of staff members.
“I am aware that we have already taken important steps to make the Ministry more accessible and to raise its profile so that its services are known and utilised by workers and employers. This must continue in the next financial year,” he added.
