Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) secretary general Petrus Nevonga said the union is dismayed by finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi for ‘creating an impression that labour unions have agreed to a no salary increment for civil servants’.
Nevonga made these remarks on Thursday while addressing the media at the NAPWU head office here, to provide an update on negotiations between the government and labour unions on salary increment and other benefits for civil servants for the 2021/22 financial year.
He said that Shiimi was wrong and misled the public when he said that he “extended specific gratitude to trade unions and indeed to all civil servants for purportedly having heeded government’s call by keeping their belts tightened for the period of the 2021/22 financial year” when he was tabling the mid-term budget review in the National Assembly last week. In actual fact, negotiations are still ongoing for salary increment between government and unions.
“This statement by the minister created an impression that unions have consented to government counter proposals on negotiations. In addition, the same statement is pre-emptive of the union outcome of the next round of negotiations between government and unions, which is scheduled for 29 November 2021,” said Nevonga.
He added that even though Shiimi is a Cabinet minister, he is not a member of the negotiating committee nor was he mandated by the negotiating committee to communicate on issues relating to salary negotiation on its behalf. Therefore, the information he communicated to Parliament is “misleading, unfounded and devoid of any truth” as the negotiation process is still ongoing.
“The unions submitted a salary and benefits increment proposal to government, which is a 10 per cent salary increment across the board, 25 per cent increase to the qualifying amounts on housing subsidy, 9 per cent increase on housing allowance, 10 per cent increase on transport for civil servants below management and 7 per cent increase on kilometre tariff,” stated Nevonga.
Last week, Shiimi announced that despite the reduced number of COVID-19 infections and deaths being recorded recently, Namibia is still in economic misery. Therefore, there will be no salary increment for civil servants any time soon.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
