WINDHOEK: The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Immanuel Ngatjizeko yesterday announced that the new Labour Amendment Act of 2012, (Act No.2 of 2012) will be implemented by all employers on 01 August 2012.
Speaking at a media conference held in the capital yesterday, (26 August 2012), Ngatjizeko, said Part Four of the Employment Services Act (Act No.8 of 2011), regulating private employment agencies and related sections will come into operation on 01 September 2012.
He explained that bot measures will regulate among other things, interrelated aspects of the system of labour hire, a form of private employment agency.
The Labour Amendment Act will also introduce measures to ensure that the protections of the Labour Act, 2007 (Act No. 11 of the 2007) are available to vulnerable to vulnerable employees in ambiguous or disguised employment relationships.
He noted that the Labour Amendment Act 2012 (Act No. 2 of 2012), replaces in full, the original Section 128 of the Labour Act, 2007 (Act No. 11 of 2007).
According to the Labour Minister, the original provision made the practice of labour hire a crime noting that the Supreme Court declared this provision to be unconstitutional in the case of Africa Personnel Services (Pty) Limited (Ltd) versus Government of the Republic of Namibia and others.
“Every enterprise that utilizes the labour of employees placed by a private employment agency, including a labour hire agency, assumes all obligations of an employer in terms of the law with respect to these employees,” he stressed.
He added that every employee placed by a private employment agency with a user enterprise has the same rights and duties in relation to the user enterprise as any other employee in relations to his or her employers, including the guarantee of basic conditions of employment of safety and health at the workplace and protection against unfair dismissal.
Employees placed with a user enterprise, he added shall have the right to join trade unions and to bargain collectively with the user enterprise, he said.