Namibian Revolutionary Transport and Manufacturing Union (NARETU) conducted a two-day training for its northern shop stewards.
The training conducted by the union’s secretary general Mr Petersen Kambinda, was held in Ondangwa on 4 – 5 October, and was attended by 32 individuals.
Two members of Namibia Media Professionals Union (NAMPU) also attended the training, while some NARETU shop stewards from Tsumeb and Otjiwarongo.
The training covered the labour law and basic conditions of employment, workplace conflict, alternative dispute resolution, and wage negotiations.
Mr Kambinda said that fighting for economic freedom is like going to war. “All of us have to know where we are going,” he said.
“You have to be equipped so that even when Petersen is no longer there, the revolution has to go forward.”
At the beginning of the training, an hour was set aside for a presentation by Namibia Health Plan (NHP), which is the largest medical aid provider in the country. Mr Fredrick Nekongo, a sales officer at NHP, explained how NHP works.
Another hour was also allocated to Ms Hilya Nghidishange, an official from Old Mutual Namibia, who made a presentation on financial literacy.
Kambinda said that the presentations were important and a part of the shop steward training. “At NARETU we are fighting to make sure that each and every worker is on medical aid and on a pension scheme at their work.”
NARETU, which was formed in 2021, is a trade union started by truck drivers, although it has grown to be a union authorised to organize, represent and act on behalf of employees in both the transport and manufacturing sectors across Namibia.
At the end of the training all participants received certificates.
In the photo: Fillipine Hengari receiving her certificate from NARETU’s CIC Petersen Kambinda after the training.
