General Secretary of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), George Ampweya outlined their stance on the urgent need to transform labour practices, curb precarious types of work and secure a just transition in the face of rapid mechanisation.
Ampweya voiced his labour concerns at the national Public Dialogue on the Promotion of Decent Work in the Namibia Mining sector, held on 16 February at Droombos near Windhoek.
Ampweya emphasised that while mining remains the backbone of Namibia’s economy, its benefits are not equally shared with the workers who drive it. “For decades we have fought to turn the promise of decent work into a daily reality for every miner. Yet today, we are seeing the systematic erosion of job security through subcontracting, poor living conditions and technological change without a human plan.”
He said they cannot call an industry successful when its workers live in fear and instability. He detailed MUN’s four pillar framework for decent work, employment rights, protection and dialogue and highlighted critical gaps in their implementation, including the widespread casualisation of labour and inadequate enforcement of Social and Labour Plans (SLPs).
“A just transition is not automatic. It must be negotiated, planned and funded. We need laws that protect permanent work, union access to all mine workers, and SLPs that are binding contracts, not broken promises. We are not just protesting injustice, we are building the capacity of our members to defend their dignity every day.”
The Dialogue, convened by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Poverty Eradication, Labour and Industrial Relations and supported by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, brought together lawmakers, government officials, international organisations and labour representatives to assess progress and challenges in realising decent work across the mining industry.
