The
2030 vision of the Ministry of Labour has as its
principle line the improving of the living standards
of all Namibians to the level of that of an
industrialised country. It is envisaged to achieve
this vision through the concept of “decent work for
all” as coined by ILO.
All
those who work have rights at work. This ministry
envisages the improvement of the “conditions of
labour”, whether organized or not, whether work might
occur in the formal or the informal economy, whether
at home, in the community or in the voluntary sector.
Employment promotion is a central objective. The
defence of rights at work necessarily involves the
obligation to promote the possibilities of work itself
– to promote personal capabilities and to expand the
opportunities for people to find productive work and
earn decent livelihood. The ministry seeks to enlarge
the world of work, not just to benchmark it. It is,
therefore, as much concerned with unemployment and
underemployment, as it is with the promotion of rights
at work. An enabling environment for enterprise
development lies at the heart of this vision.
The
goal is not just the creation of jobs, but jobs of
acceptable quality. Quality of employment cannot be
divorced from quality of work. It could related to
different forms of work, to different conditions of
work, and to a feeling of value and satisfaction. The
need today is to devise social and economic systems
that ensure basic security and employment which
remaining capable of adapting to rapidly changing
circumstances in a highly competitive global market.
The
ministry is concerned with the human condition of
work, and sees it as its responsibility to address the
vulnerabilities and contingencies which take people
out of work whether these arise from unemployment,
loss of livelihood, sickness or old age.
The
ministry is committed to promoting social dialogue.
Social dialogue requires participation and freedom of
association, and is therefore an end in itself in
democratic societies. It is also a means of ensuring
conflict resolution, social equity and effective
policy implementation. It is the means by which rights
are defended, employment promoted and work secured.
It is a source of stability at all levels, from
enterprise to society at large.
The
government has heeded the cry of the workers and other
interested parties who justifiably claim that there
are loopholes in the Labour Act, the ministry has
circulated revised version of the Act to all the
stakeholders for their comments and inputs. This
process would be carried forward and will hopefully
result in the relevant amendments to the Act.
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