Stefanus Nashama
The newly inaugurated Labour Advisory Council says that it will prioritise and create solutions that will address the high unemployment in the country.
The Council is a tripartite body tasked with advising the minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation on issues facing the industry.
The 15th Labour Advisory Council was inaugurated in Windhoek last week and the
former Executive Director in the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, Bro-Matthew Shinguadja, will chair the body.
The 13-member Council will serve a three-year term and is drawn from the state, registered trade unions and employer’s organizations.
Speaking at the occasion, Shinguadja said they are fully prepared to undertake the task of coming up with recommendations that deal with the many challenges facing the labour and employment space.
“It is a fact that like any field, labour and employment space is faced with unprecedented challenges such as unstable hence unpredictable labour relations influenced by modernization of workplaces and artificial intelligence, higher levels of unemployment, the skills shortage in some critical areas of development, lack of sustainable wages and falling away of social protection safety nets,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the inauguration, the Acting Executive Director in the line ministry, Otniel Podewiltz said the Council comes at a time when unemployment has become a serious issue for the nation.
“The 15th Labour Advisory Council comes in at particularly challenging times in the history of labour relations in Namibia,” he said.
Podewiltz added that the issue of unemployment, especially amongst youth as well as the issue of informality, falls squarely within the domain of the LAC and is a very serious challenge facing the Nation.
The Labour Advisory Council oversees the work of two standing committees, namely the Committee for dispute prevention and Resolution and the essential services committee.
The inauguration was followed by an induction training, which was expected to end last week Thursday.
In terms of law, the Labour Advisory Council has the mandate to deliberate on a large array of labour and employment issues, he said.
It is appointed by the minister, and established under section 7 of the Labour Act 6 of 1992 and continued under section 92 of the Labour Act, Act 11 of 2007. It is expected to do investigations on the prevention and reduction of unemployment and legislative matters.
In terms of law, the Labour Advisory Council has the mandate to deliberate on a large array of labour and employment issues.
