Gezhouba employees to get 10% salary increment

Gezhouba Mining Services (PTY) Limited and the Mineworkers Union of Namibia recently signed a one-year wage and substantive agreement where the two parties have agreed to increase salaries within the bargaining unit whereby jobgradeC1andC2employeeswillgeta10%salaryincrement.

As for job grade B5 and below employees, the parties agreed that all employees across the board will get an additional N$2 750 increaseintheirbasicsalary

During a media briefing held this week on Tuesday on the agreement, George Ampweya, MUN's western regional organiser mentioned that the medical aid allowance will be increased to N$500 per month, from the current monthly medical allowance of N$1000toN$1500.

Thepartiesalsoagreedonanannualpayment of a back-to-school allowance of N$3 000 with effect from January 2024, instead of paymentsfor30-minutemealintervals,13th cheques,Sundays,andpublicholidaysat2.0 andSaturdaysat1.5paymentrates.

According toAmweya, Gezhoub and MUN hasagreedontheestablishmentofapension fund scheme for this 2023 financial year of which the implementation shall be no later thanJulythisyear

Gezhouba Mining Services (PTY) Ltd started its mining operations in Namibia in December 2021, operating at the Husab Mine.AccordingtotheChiefExecutiveOfficer of Gezhouba Mining Services (GMS), WenShu,thecompanyhasbeenoperational for just over a year and already reached a milestone by successfully completing and signing its first wages and substantive agreementwiththeunionwhichisaimedatimproving employment conditions for its employees.

GMS is contracted by Swakop Uranium to provide mining services such as drilling and blasting,loadandhaulingandthusfarcreated 300 direct and more than 30 indirect employmentsthroughtheirsubcontractors.

In a statement read on his behalf by Libonina Nawa, the Chairperson of the Negotiation Team, Shu extended his appreciation for the atmosphere in which the wage negotiations were held and vowed to continue providing a harmonious working environment that promotes and encourages the strengthening of a good working relationship between the company management, branch executive committeemembersandallemployees.

Shuencouragesfellowemployerswithinboth miningandotherindustriestodoanythingpossible to improve sound labour relations in Namibiatoimprovelocaleconomy.Shusaid: “The just completed process speaks to the compliancewithexistingnationallabourlegislationwhichpermitsandencouragescollective bargaining forums between employers and tradeunionsonconditionsofemployment.”