The Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation has completed the proposed design and structure for the establishment of the Social Security National Pension Fund.
The contributory pension scheme is expected to cater for close to 250,000 beneficiaries not attached to any pension, both in the formal and informal sectors.
According to Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma, the proposal is undergoing a tripartite consultation.
“This project will be part of the global accelerator programme, including the establishment of a National Unemployment Insurance Fund, of which the Social Security Commission has begun work on the design. A further possibility of provision of social protection for first job seekers will also be considered,” said Nujoma.
Namibia is running the programmes as part of the United Nations Global Accelerator of Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, also known as GA.
Its aim is to assist countries in recovering from the devastating economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and to accelerate the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Through the GA, Namibia is currently developing an ambitious roadmap to identify, introduce and fund major programmes over a four- to five-year period that will make a significant and measurable impact in reducing youth unemployment and expanding social protection, said Nujoma.
He added that it will also include a comprehensive programme on the transition from school to work.
“The full programme implementation is expected to be launched by September of 2024, but Namibia has already begun, by accelerating and building on several existing programmes,” he said.
“Today, the high level of unemployment, particularly among the youth, threatens to permanently traumatise a generation of young Namibians. In addition, most Namibian workers do not enjoy the decent standard of living that our Constitution has committed to. Therefore, the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation’s top priority is employment creation,” the Minister added.
Nujoma said in October, he forwarded the report of the Wages Commission, supplemented by an ILO feasibility study and recommendations, on the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, which is proposed at N$18 to the Labour Advisory Council for its urgent attention.
The proposal, he says, is the product of extensive tripartite consultation.
“We plan to conclude the necessary consultative and the Cabinet processes in order to introduce the National Minimum Wage by the first quarter of next year (2024). I note that the National Minimum Wage is not a substitute for collective bargaining, instead, it will benefit low-paid workers, particularly the unorganised. Therefore, the wages and benefits that the unions can negotiate for their members are expected to exceed these minimums,” he explained.
Among other programmes he said is the development of the Third National Employment Policy (NEP3) by an inter-ministerial tripartite plus taskforce is being formulated with assistance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
In addition, Nujoma said the Ministry is looking at overhauling the Labour and Employment Legislation, by amending the Labour Act of 2007.
He said the tripartite task force on the comprehensive review and amendment of the Labour Act of 2007 will have its final meeting in December.
“I will refer the taskforce report and the proposed bill to the Labour Advisory Council, as soon as it is available, for their advice. The bill will include, among other measures, significant reforms of the alternate dispute resolution process, a comprehensive framework for prevention and elimination of violence and harassment at work, strengthened protections and remedies for unfair labour practices and unlawful discrimination, expanded maternity protection, and the first step toward paternity leave. I expect the bill to be tabled in Parliament in the first half of next year,” the Minister said.
