Lack of remuneration of farm workers
Lack of remuneration of farm workers
21 September 2006
published by http://www.nbc.com.na
A member of the Dordabis Farmers` Association has expressed concern over lack of remuneration of farm workers who help them extinguish veld fires in their area.
The spokesperson for the Dordabis Farmers Association, Frikkie Engels, says at the moment, some farmers are paying the workers in a form of overtime for the hours worked to extinguish a fire, or give them a day off.
` .Especially the jobless people, we know in the country is round about 35-40 per cent, that these people can start making veld fires to earn money. On the other extreme, if we do not look after the people who help us to extinguish these veld fires properly, we might end up with the other extreme, if there is a veld fires these people might not be too willing to help us because they are not getting payment.`
Engels raised the concerns during Deputy Prime Minister Libertine Amathila`s recent visit to the Nina Farmers Association at Nina, about 160km outside Windhoek, to discuss the issue of veld fires in Namibia.
He noted that there was a need for farmers to know the right approach to the situation so that all farmers could handle the situation in a similar manner, as the Labor Act was unclear on the matter.
Engels therefore called on the Office of the Prime Minister to assist them with the corrective measures to be followed in the remuneration of farm workers who assist in the extinguishing of veld fires.
