Workers at Puma Energy in Namibia have staged a peaceful demonstration and handed a petition to the company seeking improved salaries, conditions and transparency within the company.
In the petition, the workers said that some employees were being paid higher salaries for performing the same tasks, and than an annual pay increase of 5% was not sufficient to make ends meet. "This only takes us to a higher income tax bracket with less money left for our daily living costs. We are to trust and believe that a market salary survey was done by Puma Energy, but why are our entry level salaries and basic salaries lower than other oil companies?" said the workers, who also expressed dissatisfaction with the criteria used to determine their performance bonuses. "We were only informed of our performances and weaknesses after the final performance year-end review. No communication took place during the year," they remarked. The workers also noted that they are loading between 35 and 50 trucks of fuel per day, 50% more than last year.
Mine Workers Union (MUN) Erongo Regional Organiser Kleophas Ngwena said that workers are seeking an adjustment in starting salaries. "They are now demanding an adjustment of N$3 000 ($345) which will see the lowest paid worker earning at least N$7 585 ($874)," said Ngwena. He said the employees also want the company to provide affordable housing through the Namibian Housing Enterprise (NHE). "The workers are living in shacks with their families while working for a renowned international company," he claimed.
Roughly 15 employees participated in the action, handing a petition to Puma Energy's senior employee, Cornelius Heita. Heita said he would forward the grievances of the employees to the relevant people. The demonstration follows labour unrest elsewhere in the country.
"We are listening to the concerns raised by these 15 Walvis Bay storage terminal employees. We are proud to run an efficient, meritocratic operation in Namibia to help supply over 50 retail stations and five airports across the country," said Herman Karimbue, Operations Manager, Puma Walvis Bay terminal.
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