Another Labor Dispute Threatens Namdeb

(IDEX Online News) – Another labor dispute threatens diamond producer Namdeb just days after a month-long strike was settled. The Namibian reported that the office of the Labor Commissioner has to intervene again and try to settle the dispute.

This time, there are 14 issues that the union is unhappy about, and next Tuesday has been set as the day negotiations to settle the new grievances will kick off.

On September 15, Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) president John Ndeutepo and Namdeb managing director Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi had , signed a settlement agreement ending a crippling month-long strike, undertaking to "dedicate themselves in good faith to rebuilding their relationship and restoring good labor relations" at the mine. The High Court had made the agreement an order the next day. The earlier strike had been about housing and utility benefits of some employees.

The latest dispute mainly centers around unhappiness with the general manager and management of the mine, as well as health and safety issues. These issues had come up repeatedly even during the negotiations that marked the previous strike. At that time, the MUN leader had urged both the company and workers “not to wait for a strike to resolve issues” but to “resolve them when we can.”