By: Hertha Ekandjo
After 28 years of service at the University of Namibia’s (UNAM) main campus, cleaners will be left with no bread on their tables following the end of their cleaning company’s contract.
The campus cleaners operating under Lizma Trading have said they were surprised after receiving news from their boss that they will be left without employment after 31 August 2022.
The cleaners said that some of them have been working at UNAM for over 28 years and had “never heard such terrifying news before”.
The workers complained that all the years that they have worked for UNAM, they were always given a new cleaning company to work for after their previous company’s contract came to an end.
Mayori Haoses, a cleaner at the campus, told The Villager that it came as a shock to them when they heard the rumour about them being left jobless.
According to her, when they approached the UNAM head of support services, Irene van Wyk, she told them that she had nothing to do with this issue and there was nothing that she could do to help them.
“She told us that the company that was going to take over the contract decided to come with its employees. Now, what about us? What will happen to us?” she cried.
According to Hoases, they are approximately 75 employees.
Haoses stated that they would be left with nothing as they had no pension or other benefits except for social security.
She added that their only benefit was that they remained at UNAM every time a company’s contract ended, adding “only bosses were supposed to change and not the employees, but this year everything has changed”.
“What will we be left with? Some of us are not even from Windhoek. We haven’t even been told what the way forward is. All we were told is that the new boss is coming with her own workers. We did not even receive a three-month notice. What will we be left with? At least they were supposed to renew the contract for now until January, then from there, we can move on with our lives,” said Haoses.
The 75 have expressed that the latest developments will not only harm them, but the many family members they take care of.
“The new boss should at least take us, or UNAM must pay us out,” she expressed.
Lizma Trading’s owner, Lizma van Wyk, said there was nothing that she could do, adding that she was not the one who awards contracts.
“I told them that my contract was ending this month and that as they have seen in the newspapers, this tender was advertised and awarded to someone else,” said van Wyk.
According to her, she does not know what happened this year for the tender to go to someone else. Usually, the workers remained, and the bosses went.
“These people are used to staying when companies leave, and now that is why they are complaining. The contractors were changing but not the employees,” she said.
According to her, this will be the first time the cleaners faced such a challenge.
UNAM head of support services, Irene van Wyk, told The Villager that she was not allowed to comment regarding this issue.
