juntos en accion - together in action - agir ensemble

Diana Kavari, 25 years, Namibia
I am employed in fishing company that process fish. I have been working as a casual worker for the last 4 years in the same company. They call us casual workers, temporary workers and contract workers - different definitions at different times. My contract is renewed every 4 months. The management want to avoid taking the responsibility for the workers so we are given only short-term contracts. Sometimes we get too much work in one week and in other weeks, there is no work. When there is too much fish production we are forced to work continuously. We are fired from work if we don’t go to work when they call us. There are around 400 workers in my factory and around 300 workers are working as casual workers. Some of them have worked more than 8 years as casual workers.

We work 9 to 13 hours a day. Even though the overtime is paid, the company levy a heavy tax on our payment but we don't know the reason for this. We get 1400-1500 Namibian dollars per month. This money is not enough to make a living. We are also not given enough protective gloves. Only once we are given hand gloves and they were so easily damaged, but we had to manage with that.

I don’t have medical aid, and no sick leave. We have only unpaid leave when we are sick. The management do not even recognise us as workers in the company when we want to register for studies or to register to get loans, so we are not able to study.

Women get low paid jobs in the factory and the high paid jobs are given to males. They call the the women's work “lighter duties”. In the factory they stigmatise the women as “they get sick easily” and so they say “do not employ the women”.

Initially we joined a trade union and we discovered later that the union is not supporting the workers, but instead is standing together with the employers. So we joined a new union and this union is not given the right to bargain on behalf of workers. The union is struggling to get inside the factory to negotiate for the workers.

I want a better work to look after the family and to have financial stability. I need security and work that respects and recognises me. I want to enjoy doing my work. I want a permanent work that has protection.

I do have hope that I will get a permanent work. I will be protected one day.

I get my motivation from my mother. She inspires me a lot. The people who discriminate against me motivate me too. When they suppress me saying ‘you cannot, you are not able’ I want to show them that I CAN!

What is your message to the young workers, young women workers? Don’t rush! Don’t give up. Even though the action process takes a long time there will be a result and there will be fruit from what ever you do.