Lylie Happiness
Windhoek, July 14 -A meeting with the Human Resources and Community Development Standing Committee of the Parliament was convened.
Former employees of Air Namibia will be consulted during today’s meeting. It comes after two petitions from the airline’s now-defunct workforce that were unhappy with previous workers.
The former employees want the committee to summon stakeholders to explain the delays in the payment of their severance packages, among other concerns.
Renier Bougard, their spokesperson, claims that numerous attempts to request an audience with stakeholders have failed to produce any fruitful outcomes.
“We have complied with all regulations for more than two years, yet assistance is not provided. We experience neglect.”
Although the Honorable Minister Iipumbu said that his office doors were open, each time they called to make an appointment, they were met with a long list of excuses.
They ask for a quick meeting with the Minister’s office and also demand the summoning of the Air Namibia liquidators.
As well as other stakeholders such as NAMFISA, the Ministry of Justice, the Master of the High Court, and NamRa”, he pleaded.
The petitioners pleaded with MPs to take action because they had no other way to support themselves and expressed disappointment that Parliament had not quickly looked into their situation despite receiving the initial petition.
“The petition that was presented on November 22, 2022 is being followed up on by this one. We are forced by bureaucracy to organize another nonviolent protest to bring attention to the unfairness we have experienced from the people in charge of running the country.
For approximately 7 months, we did not receive any concrete input regarding our petition and we did not appear at any hearings.”
We have only received part of our severance package and not the full amount as stipulated in our claims that were signed under oath. We ask Parliament to intervene so that we can resolve this matter urgently”, read the petition.
Among a host of issues the ex-employees intend to discuss are tax exemptions on their severance packages and a request for a 30% interest rate, reasoning that payment delays of more than two years have adversely affected me financially. -Namibia Daily News
