Municipal workers demand better wages
In a complaint handed over to the City of Windhoek (CoW) on Friday, employees demanded better salaries and reforms within the organisation and gave the municipality two weeks to respond.Elia Haindongo, who represents the Namibian Trade Union for Public Service Workers (Napwu), handed over the complaint to Faniel Maanda in the absence of Moses Matyayi, the chief executive of the municipality.
Haindongo said employees have not received salary increases for four consecutive years, despite rising living costs.
“The repo rate has increased to 7.75, and is expected to rise again. The interest rate has risen four times this year alone, and the fuel price six times."
He said August's inflation rate was 6%, while the annual inflation rate stands at 5.3%. He further emphasized that the consumer price index for food in Namibia from July to August
also rose.
"The City of Windhoek increased rates and taxes by 4.5% and electricity by 8.6%, which had an impact on the employees' housing and transport costs," he said.
According to the complaint, the employees want the municipality to respond to their already submitted salary increase for the 2023-24 financial year, while they also demand free parking for employees who have not been allocated parking and to hire contract workers permanently
The municipality's management was also encouraged to stop outsourcing services when there is well-established internal capacity that can perform these tasks and called for an end to unfair labor practices.
The group also wants the municipality to introduce cost-cutting measures. This to improve the organisation's overall stability as well as its ability to maintain employees' well-being, by stopping unnecessary expenses such as overseas trips for board members.
The aggrieved employees also demanded that the municipality discipline "corrupt managers and senior managers" by not taking allegations of nepotism and corruption lightly and further insisting on stricter disciplinary measures against the guilty.
"Investigations into allegations of corruption for appropriate action must be conducted in a tripartite manner to ensure transparency and impartiality," according to the complaint.
"We stand united and committed to the success of the municipality in its provision of services to the city's residents."