By Patience Makwele

A group of dismissed supervisors at a local fishing company in Walvis Bay are demanding a full payout of their basic salary and housing allowance dating back to 1 September 2019 when they were dismissed from their employment.  However, in the protected matter, a High Court judgement delivered on 09 July 2024 by Judge Shafimana Uitele ordered the company, Embwinda Fishing (Pty) Ltd to reinstate the 10 employees who were initially part of 21 staffers dismissed after allegedly failing to pack pallets of frozen fish as instructed. At the time of their dismissal, the employees earned a basic salary of N$11 900 and received N$1300.00 in housing allowance which they now demand that the company pays back as loss of income from their day of dismissal in light of the court judgement They further accused the Namibian Seaman and Allied Workers Union (NASAWU ) of betraying them and living them stranded in their quest for restorative justice in June this year.
 

Meanwhile in the judgement delivered by Uietele, the employees were instructed by their shift manager to pack one pellet of frozen fish on a line on. As a result of they were charged with misconduct and insubordination, after union representatives claimed they had not been given protective clothing or instructions, the company suspended the hearing to investigate. Management later found the claims false and added a charge of dishonesty.
 

In September 2019, the employees were dismissed after being found guilty on both charges. Their internal appeal failed, and the Labour Commissioner upheld the dismissal. The workers took the matter to the High Court and it was heard 15 december 2023.
Judge Uitele held that in dismissal cases, the Labour Act presumes unfairness unless the employer proves otherwise. He noted that insubordination depends on the reasonableness of the order and the wilfulness of defiance. The court rejected the arbitrator’s application of “common purpose” and “derivative misconduct,” finding no evidence the supervisors had planned to deceive the employer or withheld information to protect the wrongdoer.
 

On 18 September 2024, Embwinda Fishing (Pty) Ltd., through its legal representatives King Law Associates Inc., made two separate offers to the dismissed group in an attempt to settle the  labor dispute. In letters seen by  Confidente the latest offer, which is dated 1 July 2025, proposed a payout of N$140,000 for each of the 15 respondents.
The letter states that the amount is intended as a full and final settlement of the matter. The offer is conditional on the employees and the company withdrawing their respective appeals, with each party bearing their own legal costs. This latest proposal follows a previous offer made on September 18, 2024, which presented two options to the employees: A compensation payment of N$80,000 for each of the 10 respondents in full and final settlement or alternatively, the company offered to re-employ the respondents as general workers but with no obligation to pay any compensation or loss of income from the date of their dismissal. Both settlement proposals required the employees to drop all legal challenges against the company. While a handwritten note indicated that the employees' legal team, Sisa Namandje & Co. Inc., was given until 25 September 2024, to respond to the offer.

STILL DEMANDING:
Speaking to Confidente this week two of the dismissed workers who spoke on condition of anonymity, the workers expressed deep frustration and confusion about the ongoing legal case. Despite winning the court case, they feel as though they have lost because they have not received any money to date. 
“It has been over six years since we lost our jobs and the company has not paid us,” stressed one of the workers. “They were ordered by the Judge to reinstate us but because we never received our full payout and housing allowances.” The affected workers raised complaints of unfairness towards the union by citing that the union used them and later abandoned them. “NASAWU was the union that was representing us at the time but after winning the case, when we demanded to be paid N$140 000 each, the union stopped attending to us,” shared another worker. “When we asked why they were no longer representing us, they told us that the case had to be dropped because there is another case and that there was no money left to continue the case.” The workers expressed disappointment. “The union must stop doing this to other works,, its unfair and disappointing.”

UNION SAYS
In a separate interview, NASWAU President, Paulus Hango explained that some of the workers had belonged to different unions and could not be represented by his union.
 

“Some of these workers were from different unions and because they had issues with their unions they came seeking help from us as a result funding was not enough,” said Hango. Adding, “It is not only at the coast, many of these workers do not belong to the same union. Have you ever seen a union representing people who are not from their union? If they are not happy, go to other unions to represent them.” Confidente made efforts to contact Embwinda for comment however they were referred to the current managing director who referred this paper to the former managing director, Jose Luis Reyero who is still currently out of the country and could not be reached at the time, however questions were emailed to him.