Nantu threatens to drags GRN to court

The Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU) have decided to engage the Labour Commissioner in order to settle the three month dispute between them and the government over salary increment, transport and housing allowance increase which the government have up to this point not responded positively to.

According to the Erongo Regional Chairperson of NANTU, Jonathan Tsuseb, NANTU wanted a salary increment of 12%, which the government refused to give, “we came down to 8% but the government still refused and stood at 5% only. We also demanded that housing subsidy should at least be increased by 30% and transport allowance should be double, from N$500 to N$1000, which is only reasonable because most of the teachers end up with nothing after paying for transport and other expenses and what is most painful is that most of the teachers live in shacks because that’s what their salary can afford. “ Government says that they budgeted for all the civil servants N$1.7 billion but our proposal that we have put forth will cost the government N$2.2 billion, so the difference is maybe where the shortfall is coming” said Tsuseb.
Tsuseb further said that the Office of the Labour Commissioner has appointed a conciliator to attend to the dispute. Another issue which Tsuseb raised as his main concern is the issue of school principals, “all principals and educational inspectors are on grade 5 but the inspectors are receiving transport allowance while principals are not and that is one area we are looking at because we want to find out why it is like that if they are both on the same grade, we took this case to the government, to the office of the prime minister” Tsuseb adds. “If we do not resolve issues in court with the government then we will be forced to take actions” said Tsuseb. The conciliation process between NANTU and the government is scheduled for 26 July.
NANTU national executive committee embarked to visit all the fourteen regions of the country to have consultative meetings which aims at informing and updating all NANTU members and teachers in particular on matters regarding salary negotiations and the team will also share what the current status of the negotiation is.
The first group will visit Omatjete Primary School at 14H00 on 18 July, on 19 July the team will be in Walvis Bay at Duinesig Secondary School at 14H00 and on 20 July, the team will visit Karibib and they will be at Ebenhaiser Primary Scholl at 14H00. Tsuseb urges NANTU members to attend the consultative meetings so that they can ask questions and hear from the deputy secretary general Loide Shaanika Amushila, who according to Tsuseb will be present at the consultative meetings.