Union rejects Gendev’s N$6 700 pay offer

The Namibia Seamen and Allied Workers’ Union (Nasawu) has rejected Gendev Fishing Group’s proposed N$6 700 monthly salary offer, with the company confirming none of its employees accepted the proposal before the deadline yesterday morning.

The dispute centres on whether the offer amounts to a genuine salary increase, or whether it is simply a change to workers’ existing guaranteed working hours and pay structure.

Gendev issued an internal memo to employees on 22 July, stating that it had made an offer to increase the guaranteed monthly salary from N$2 960 for 98 hours to N$6 700 for 195 hours.

Nasawu president Paulus Hango has rejected the company’s description of the offer as an increase, arguing that Gendev was presenting normal working hours as a new benefit.

“The manner in which the company is handling the negotiations is the problem. They are missing the point,” Hango says.