The Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation says many security companies in Zambezi have not implemented the minimum wage for security guards.

This was revealed by the head of arbitration at Katima Mulilo, Bester Maiba, during the visit of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, Social Welfare, and Labour Affairs.

Maiba says none of the security companies have applied for exemption, not to implement the Minimum wage, and instead they are failing to pay their employees for two to three months.

He says many security companies only pay outstanding salaries when the matter is reported to the Labour Commissioner's office.

Maiba observed that disputes are still being registered as many companies closed due to COVID-19 and that the Labour Commissioner's office received five retrenchment notices.

Two of the cases are from the Construction company, and three are from the retail industry, which is giving reasons for financial difficulties.

"The minimum wage for the first employee, that is, the person employed within one year, should be paid N$8.75 per hour, then after one should be paid N$10 per hour, but that is not happening, and unions are where we also face serious problems. The unions in those industries are very willing to open cases to force these employers to comply with the collective agreement."

During this financial year, the Office of the Labour Commissioner has registered 37 labour disputes in the Zambezi Region alone.

Out of the 37, 14 were resolved through conciliation, while 12 were resolved by Arbitration.

Maiba informed the Committee that last week his office received a case of unprotected strike from the Hospitality industry on Impalila Island, where workers downed tools for three days.

The Labour office is also faced with a problem of transport where they only have one vehicle shared among four to five divisions, which creates a challenge in service delivery.