Joseph ||Garoëb on salary increment for fishermen
March 11, 2025
Around 400 former employees of Heinaste and Namsov 73 have gone without salaries for the past three months after refusing to sign new employment contracts with the companies they were reassigned to.
These workers were originally employed through the Government Employment Redress Programme, which was created to provide jobs for fishermen who lost their positions after participating in an illegal strike nearly a decade ago.
Under the programme, they received a fixed monthly salary of N$4,000, regardless of whether they worked.
However, around 400 workers were placed at companies such as Merlus Cormorant, Iyaloo W Investment, Hangana, and Novanam, where they earned N$4,500 per month. Now, they are demanding that their salary be raised to N$8,500 per month.
Secretary General of the Mining, Metal, Maritime, and Construction Workers Union, Joseph ||Garoëb unpacks this
