by Herbert Jauch
May Day has been celebrated in Namibia as the international Workers’ Day since the late 1980s. During that time, the day attracted huge crowds of workers who attended the mass rallies of the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), which linked the struggle against economic exploitation with the national struggle for political liberation. As a result, the NUNW’s popularity at the time extended way beyond the membership and earned the trade union federation far-reaching community support.
After independence, the Namibian labour movement had to redefine its role with the introduction of “tripartism”, which gave unions the role of one of government’s “social partners” alongside employers’ organisations. Labour was thus consulted but decision-making power remained the prerogative of government. In addition, like trade unions elsewhere, Namibian unions were confronted by some of the results of a capital-driven globalisation that attacked and undermined some of the achievements that workers had made over the years. An open-door policy towards foreign investments brought several investors to Namibia that cared little about workers’ wellbeing or environmental considerations. Instead, they merely used the available opportunities to ruthlessly exploit the country’s resources, including its workers. The infamous Ramatex investment that came to Namibia under the Export Processing Zones (EPZ) programme is just one of the reminders in this regard. Furthermore, Namibian workers were confronted by companies’ outsourcing strategies and the use of labour hire, which further eroded job security and well-being of workers. Trade unions thus had to confront these trends, sometimes having to go against government policies (like in the case of EPZs) and sometimes receiving support from government, like in the case of labour hire.
Besides these external factors, Namibia’s labour movement today is facing enormous internal divisions, which have greatly weakened its effectiveness. At independence, the labour movement’s stated aim was to build “one country-one federation” and “one industry-one union”. Twenty-five years later, the opposite has happened: Namibia today has almost 40 registered trade unions and three union federations, which are at loggerheads with each other. Besides the NUNW, there is the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), which was formed in 2002, and has significantly increased its membership over time. The dividing line between the NUNW and TUCNA is the question of the NUNW’s political affiliation with the Swapo Party, which TUCNA rejects. Thus the two federations operate as rivals and competitors to each other with little prospects of co-operation around common workers’ interests. In addition, there is a third federation, the Namibia National Labour Organisation (NANLO), which was formed in 2014 by the former NUNW general secretary, Evilastus Kaaronda, after he was dismissed by the NUNW. Thus the formation of NANLO was the direct result of internal division within the NUNW.
While some may argue that a multitude of trade unions and the existence of three federations offer workers a wide choice, the current reality shows a different picture. A multitude of unions at the workplace has resulted in conflicts between workers and has opened opportunities for labour’s opponents to use a strategy of divide and rule. The Namibian Labour Act provides for exclusive bargaining rights for the majority union or even a group of unions but as long as unions see each other as rivals and enemies, the likely consequence is that workers will be divided on the shop floor and that much energy is wasted by unions fighting each other.
Also, the existence of more unions has not resulted in more workers becoming unionised. “Difficult” industries, like domestic work, farm work and the informal economy are still poorly organised as most unions seem to focus on the “easier” industries like fishing, mining, large private companies and the public sector. The multitude of unions has also not resulted in better protection for workers or improved working conditions across in the country.
Thus May Day 2015 could be an opportunity for Namibian unions to reflect on the bigger picture and to debate how they can represent working class interests more effectively – both at the workplace and in the national policy arena. Unions also need to rededicate themselves to the principle of workers’ control to avoid a scenario where some union leaders behave like managers who own the organisation and use it for their personal interests.
Furthermore, workers need to assess if the old divisions between unions are still relevant today or if there are possibilities for co-operation. Finally, the labour movement needs to ask itself how it can reach those tens of thousands of vulnerable workers who are still not unionised.
Failure to address these key challenges might see trade unions losing their relevance as a uniting force to spearhead workers’ interests in Namibia.
*Herbert Jauch was the founding director of the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) and now works as labour researcher and educator for various organisations.