Jana-Mari Smith and Werner Menges
26 April 2011
A major Air Namibia ground staff strike was called off late on Wednesday shortly before the work stoppage was set to start at midnight.
John Kwedhi, general secretary of the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Natau), confirmed on Thursday that an agreement was reached with the airline shortly before 272 ground staff were set to stop work.
In an affidavit filed at the High Court that night by Air Namibia in a last-ditch effort to stop the strike, Air Namibia’s acting managing director, Theo Namases, stated that the airline could “end up with irrecoverable damages and other massive liabilities” if the threatened strike was not prevented.
While Air Namibia went to court to get an interdict prohibiting the strike, Kwedhi and the airline managed to finalise the wage negotiations at the same time.
The agreement reached includes a nine per cent increase for employees within the bargaining unit falling in the A band, 7,5 per cent for the B band and 6,5 per cent for workers in the C band.
Employees will receive an additional transport allowance of N$300 and housing allowance of N$550 per month.
Air Namibia confirmed on Thursday that the agreement will be backdated to June 1, 2010, which according to Kwedhi, will cost the airline “roughly between N$7 million and N$11 million” in total.
Kwedhi said on Thursday that the entire debacle could have been prevented had Air Namibia treated the wage negotiations, which began in June 2010, in a “serious” manner.
He added that the union will now “submit a new proposal” for wages for the next financial year.
At court on Wednesday night, while tense negotiations with the union were taking place at the airline’s headquarters, Air Namibia obtained an urgent Labour Court interdict to prohibit the threatened strike.
With the interdict, which Judge Louis Muller issued shortly after 20h00, the strike notice that Natau gave to the airline on Monday last week was declared null and void. A ballot that the trade union conducted on Wednesday to decide on strike action was also declared null and void.
The court’s interdict is in effect until June 3 at this stage.
Claiming that the ballot conducted on Wednesday did not comply with the terms of the recognition agreement between Natau and Air Namibia, Air Namibia boss Namases alleged that the strike would have been unlawful. She charged that Natau’s behaviour last week clearly demonstrated that the trade union “has no regard for its duties and obligations”.
According to Air Namibia the recognition agreement requires that, if a majority of employees opt for strike action in a ballot, at least 48 hours’ notice should be given before such a strike starts.
Kwedhi argued on Thursday that the union had followed lawful procedure, adding that the union had given notice of the strike to Air Namibia “while … dealing with the process” of the ballot.
He claimed that Air Namibia “refused to accept” the union’s letter notifying them of the strike on Monday. Kwedhi argued that despite the court finding in favour of the airline, “the Labour Act has no provision” in which it states that the ballot has to be held before the notice of strike is given.
Namases also stated in her affidavit that while pilots and cabin crew were not included in the group of Air Namibia employees that were threatening to strike, the personnel who were due to stop work “form vital cogs in [Air Namibia’s] operations”, and without them the airline’s operations would have come to a standstill, with “most serious financial and reputational repercussions” for Air Namibia.
Air Namibia is set to receive financial assistance to the tune of N$406 million from Government during the 2011-12 budget year. Of this money, about N$318,5 million is earmarked for repaying loans the airline has with commercial banks, while the remainder is to be used to help cover its operational costs.
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Continued here:
Air Namibia And Union Shake Hands