TWO of
Job Muniaro, the secretary general of the
His counterpart,
The two federations are also encouraging Namibians to stop purchasing or having any transactions with the retail group.
NUNW and Tucna's calls for a nationwide boycott come after labour minister
However, despite the minister's call for a boycott yesterday, crowds of people were seen shopping at the Shoprite store in
Other Shoprite subsidiaries such as Checkers,
Some of the customers found shopping at
Shoprite employees, represented by the
The
The company has stuck to its initial proposal of giving workers between 5% and 10% wage increments without other benefits such as housing and transport allowances.
Full-time workers at Shoprite earn between N$1 200 and N$2 500 per month.
Minister Nujoma this week said these wages were especially low compared to the average wage of all Namibian workers, which is slightly above N$6 000.
"Their salaries consign them to a life of deprivation for themselves and their families," Nujoma said.
Muniaro condemned Shoprite's conduct at a media briefing yesterday, saying the company has "for far too long mistreated our workers wickedly, purposely and grossly violated the laws of
The NUNW is the mother body to which the
"Workers are suffering at the hands of Shoprite owners and management and are threatened with job losses," he said.
It was clear, Muniaro said, that Shoprite is now trying to escape guilt of the maltreatment of workers through excuses hidden behind Covid-19.
He urged the company to "immediately" release the seasonal workers it recruited to fill the positions of the striking workers.
Meanwhile, Hango criticised the manner in which the police handled the strike, claiming that the "police was being used by Shoprite management as a shield to protect them and encourage them to employ scab-labour".
"This detracts from ever reaching a lasting solution to this problem," he said.
SUN's spokesperson, Tyson Hihanguapo, said that the union had noted the injustice that Shoprite acted upon the employees.
"Companies such as Shoprite thrive on the continued exploitation of black people through cheap labour," said Hihanguapo.
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