Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister, Derek Klazen has moved to address challenges being encountered with ex-fishermen that were absorbed through the Governmental Employment Re-Dressing Programme (GERP) following their loss of employment in recent years.
With the fishermen having written multiple petitions seeking redress of numerous issues, Klazen last week initiated a consultative meeting which also included Hafeni Ndemula, Deputy Minister of Labour, industrial Relations and Job Creation.
A total of 2 483 ex-fishermen have been absorbed through this programme and have been employed mainly in the Hake and Horse Mackerel sub-sectors. Of the 2 483, 550 fishermen are employed in the horse mackerel sub sector while a further 1 933 fishermen are in the hake sub-sector against a tonnage of 18,370 MT of Hake and 16,500 MT of horse mackerel.
“I want to pause here for a second and mention that these are former fishermen because they were employed as such at that time, working aboard fishing vessels at sea. Their Jobs as fishermen were lost for reasons that are widely known and as such the GERP Programme is not a rehash or continuation of their previous jobs but a new offer altogether aimed at simply providing jobs to them within the vertical integration of fishing.
“This vertical integration or supply chain consist of catching, freezing, packaging, marketing and sales of fish, its related products and other marine resources amongst others and is not specifically designed to offer the ex-fishermen seamen jobs,” said Klazen adding that this as an important clarification against growing misleading utterances falsely assuring all ex-fishermen jobs at sea.
He went on to say that it is simply not possible to re-employ all ex-fishermen aboard fishing vessels because their previous jobs aboard fishing vessels have been taken over by other Namibians following their separation from their previous employers.
“This is in part the reason why most of the employees employed under the GERP do not all have physical work for their hands at the moment and continue to receive a monthly salary while outside the premises of their respective employers.
“ Since the creation of GERP with its sole purpose of providing the affected ex-Fishermen with gainful employment the program has encountered several challenges, some of which were genuine, while others challenges appear to be superfluous and unduly influenced by political opportunism, personal gratification, conflicts and other dubious interests,” expressed Klazen further stating that while it is settled that Namibians without arms can constitutionally showcase their dissatisfaction and petition government, the large crux of the petitions being received by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources appear to be fuelled by political opportunism and are self-serving and spurred on by a lack of understanding not only of labour laws but also relating to a lack of understanding regarding which matters are to be dealt with in terms of the Labour Act, more specifically the provisions dealing with referral of disputes to the Labour Commissioner, alternative dispute resolutions mechanisms and the importance of the attainment of a clear sole bargaining union to representing the rights of the ex-fishermen with a recognition agreement with the respective employers.
“I would like to stress that the government, through the two ministries, is not an adversary but a reliable partner and initiator of this whole process. I would further like to emphasize that this program was established to provide dignity and sustenance to the affected ex-fishermen. The intention in creating this program was not to undermine or oppose the very individuals whose livelihood is our commitment.
“As a government, we understand the impact of unemployment on human dignity, mental well-being, and self-esteem. Therefore, it was imperative for us to facilitate employment opportunities for the affected ex-fishermen, whether employed at sea or on factory floors. Our primary objective was to ensure that each fisherman has a reliable source of monthly income to support their families,” concluded Klazen.