Over 600 retrenched SPP employees absorbed

Tunacor Fisheries has absorbed more than 600 former employees from the Seaflower Pelagic Processing (SPP) who were retrenched earlier this year due to fishing quota cuts.SPP is a joint venture between Fishcor and African Selection Fishing Namibia, which is owned by the Angolan-based African Selection Trust.At an official signing agreement between Fishcor and Tunacor at Walvis Bay on Thursday, Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) secretary general Jacob Penda expressed dissatisfaction with the exploitation these employees had to endure while employed at SPP.“Nafau had been working hard, together with its stakeholders to make sure that the group of former SPP employees get decent employment with decent salaries and benefits. These employees have been exploited under the management of SPP on the ‘no-work-no-pay’ for a period of 22 months,” Penda expressed.He discouraged against the exploitation of employees by employers saying that contracts of no work, no pay have been abolished and are against the Labour Act.He therefore voiced the union’s joy towards Government who allocated quotas to Tunacor to enable them to absorb the 655 unemployed people, who will now enjoy the benefits of a basic salary, housing allowance and pension, among others.Working conditionsFishcor temporary board member Milka Mungunda described the working conditions under which these employees were working as shocking, referring to some of the employees’ payslips which reflected an amount of N$ 33 per month.“This therefore necessitated the temporary board members to have a serious meeting with the two ministers of Fisheries and Public Enterprises, Albert Kawana and Leon Jooste, in order to take the necessary recommendations,” she added.Mungunda noted that although they were engaged in discussions with a number of fishing companies regarding the matter, the offer from Tunacor was the most lucrative one and it was on that basis the decision was made, along with a number of conditions.She added although this is an interim decision, the two parties are still working on a long-term sustainable solution for the employees.Tunacor General Manager Peya Hitula stated that the company received an additional 4 000 metric tonnes of fishing quotas and the new employees are currently being registered onto the company’s payroll.He added that the employees would also be expecting their first salaries in two weeks’ time. - Nampa

Over 600 retrenched SPP employees absorbed

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Over 600 retrenched SPP employees absorbed

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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