Staff Reporter
THE Secretary General of the Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN), Mahongora Kavihuha said that not all civil servants could vote on strike action as some were turned away at polling stations due to administrative issues.
This comes after a total of 42 216 civil servants voted in favour of a strike during the two-day voting process last week, while 1 232 voted against it. This represents less than 50% of the civil servants work force which includes over 100 000 workers.
This low voter turnout, Kavihuha said, is due to the fact that some civil servants were confined to work in regions where they were not registered and as such, they were not allowed to cast their votes.
He added that the fact that the National Public Workers Union (NAPWU) and National Teachers Union (NANTU) organised the strike ballot did not mean that public workers from other unions could not cast their votes, as these unions, which have a bargaining status with government have an obligation to represent all workers.
“People should understand that there is no fun in this strike action for public servants, but that they were pushed by arrogant employers. The people who will be impacted by the strike and halting in service delivery are ordinary people, which include the striking workers as well, but we cannot allow the suffering to continue,” Kavihuha said.
When asked for commentary on the ballot results, the Secretary General of NAPWU, Petrus Nevongo, said that he could not comment as statistics revealed by the media were not officially released by his union.
Ndjizuvee Haakuria, the Secretary General of the Public Servants Union of Namibia (PSUN), also commented that the results were impacted by the fact that some civil servants are not allowed to strike. He added that the Namibian Labour legislation does not apply to the Police, Intelligence service workers, members of the National Defence Force (NDF), Doctors and Nurses as well as the Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) workers.
Haakuria stated that these workers make up a large number of civil servants which influenced the outcome of the ballot results. The Secretary General, however added that government’s attempts to have senior management fulfil duties of striking workers are not practical as these posts are simply too many to fill with senior employees.
