Stefanus Nashama
A Chinese-owned shop in Windhoek’s China Town shopping area, which initially reduced the salaries of its employees for joining a certain labour union, has now agreed to increase their salaries following successful negotiations facilitated by social activist Michael Amushelelo.
The situation unfolded when workers registered themselves with a union, and upon registration, the union informed the employer about the workers’ decision.
However, the business owner did not react favourably to this development and decided to cut the workers’ salaries as a punitive measure for joining a union.
According to Amushelelo, three employees at the shop disclosed that one worker, who had been with the company for a longer period, was earning a salary of N$1,500 while the other two were earning N$1,300 each before the reduction.
As a consequence of joining the union, the salary of the worker earning N$1,500 was slightly reduced to N$1,300.00, and the salary of the worker earning N$1,300 was reduced to N$1,200.
After successful negotiations with the shop owner, Amushelelo announced that the longest-serving employees would now earn N$2,000 each month, and the rest would earn N$1,800 monthly.
He noted that these salaries would continue to increase based on the shop’s sales performance.
While Amushelelo could not disclose the name of the union without its consent, he revealed that the affected workers sought his intervention because they were dissatisfied with the reduction in their salaries.
This prompted him to visit the shop and engage with the owner directly.
Upon his arrival, Amushelelo conducted interviews with the workers to understand the full story. He learned that a representative from the union had registered them and subsequently informed the employer of their union membership.
Amushelelo further mentioned that the shop owner, known only as Yeng, initially insisted on involving his lawyer but eventually agreed to raise the salaries.
He described the outcome as a small victory for the workers, emphasizing his commitment to negotiating fearlessly and intervening when necessary to prevent worker exploitation in the country.
Amushelelo encouraged the public to support the shop in the hope of securing further salary improvements for its employees in the future.
