Marthina Mutanga
THE employees of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation are accusing the management of the state-owned enterprise of breaking the strike rules by employing freelance workers.
Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) shop steward, Hana Mbaha said the workers are going to march to the Parliament building on Wednesday because they are tired and feel like no one is taking their demands seriously.
Mbaha said that when the workers reach the Parliament building they intend to hand a petition to the Speaker of the House, Professor Peter Katjivi.
“The management is taking us for a joke and we are tired of what is happening currently at the NBC. We will have to step up and deal with this matter urgently,” Mbaha said.
The NBC Board of Directors at the start of the weekend repeated a request for striking employees to return to work in order to find workable solutions for the challenges faced by the national broadcaster.
“During these difficult and trying times, the main focus of the NBC currently is to secure jobs. We appreciate and value our employees and if things were normal, we would have done all in our power to meet our employees halfway,” the board said in a statement.
The NBC bard said that it is seized with finding funds that will ensure that the NBC can function as a going concern.
The issue at the heart of the current problem is the reduced subsidy from the shareholder that will have grave consequences for the entire NBC.
The board made it clear that the reduced subsidy from the government will impede normal operations as well as the job security of the majority of current staff members.
