By: Kelvin Chiringa
The Roads Contractor Company’s ((RCC) employees have criticized the company’s board of directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as a pack of arrogant bureaucrats that are busy making decisions without consulting workers and their union.
The workers demonstrated their anger outside the RCC office in Klein Windhoek Tuesday afternoon where they called for the board to be axed as well as the company’s CEO.
RCC’s interim full-time shop steward under the aegis of the Public Service Union of Namibia (PSUN), Erastus Kalute, said employees have in recent times engaged the management regarding a host of issues affecting them.
At the centre of the workers’ concerns are what they called the illegal deductions from their salaries, the unilateral revision of staff’s leave days to 60 as well as unilateral cancellation of vehicle insurance policy.
They have also expressed that RCC revised the workers’ fuel benefits without any consultation with PSUN.
Kalute said most of the issues concern unilateral decisions taken by the board and management without consulting workers and that some of these changed the basic conditions of employment at the company.
To make matters worse, he said, the company has continued to implement these measures despite interventions by the union, and thus undermining the collecting bargaining and article 8.4 of the recognition and procedural agreement.
“RCC employees demand that the company stop the illegal deductions with immediate effect and refund all monies so deducted. We further demand the removal of the current CEO for subverting orderly collective bargaining and mishandling of deductions without engaging the union as provided for in the recognition and procedural agreement.”
“RCC at this point in time does not need the current type of arrogant leadership witnessed by the unilateral approach to labour rights. Employment decisions should never disadvantage the already suffering employees,” said Kalute.
The workers have given the board seven days to address their demands failure of which they said they are ready to take unspecified drastic action.
In the meantime, RCC has been considered to be a candle flickering in the wind, whose flame will likely be snuffed out soon, considering its track record of poor performance and bleak outlook.
Last year, an arbitration award of close to N$100 million was given against the company together with its ex-joint venture partner and this worsened the fortunes of the already struggling SOE.
Added to this, the company was kicked out from its Southern Industrial premises which was owned by Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings Limited (NPTH), due to rentals not paid.
In 2014, the company was owing government N$160 million in unpaid taxes as it braved through the storm of financial turmoil, despite winning government tenders.
RCC ranked last in the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) SOEs rankings as it carried on with its work without public information available on its financial performance over many years.
Despite this, Raphael Masule who has been with RCC for a number of years, said the workers were hopeful that the company can be turned around.