Namibia: Govt appoints minimum wage commission

The minister of labour, industrial relations and employment creation, Utoni Nujoma, on Thursday appointed wage commissioners to spearhead the introduction of a national minimum wage.

The commissioners are chairperson Marius Kudumo, trade unions' representative Gideon Thomas, employers organisation representative Edwina Hashikutuva and two additional members, Fritz Nghiishililwa and Alexia Kariko.

The commission, whose tenure runs from February to 31 August 2021, would investigate all industries, report and make recommendations to the minister on the national minimum wage (NMW).

According to Nujoma, the commissioners would explore the setting of a national minimum wage in line with international trends. The NMW will not be a substitute for wages set through good faith collective bargaining between trade unions and employers. It is expected that collectively bargained wages, at least in industries with strong trade unions, will be higher than the minimum wage to be set by a wage order.

He reminded the commissioners that the constitutional goal is to achieve a minimum living wage.

Nujoma said, this should be your objective, even if this can be achieved in phases

Once established, the NMW will cover employees across all sectors of the economy, except categories that the minister might exempt. The report would detail the NMW proposals and projections, and the minimum wage implementation strategy/plan.

Kudumo said they are inquiring about a minimum wage for Namibia and would invite written submissions that would indicate what could be regarded as a minimum wage in Namibia, taking various factors into consideration. They will use living wages in other parts of the world as a benchmark against which to set the NMW for Namibia.