The Namibia Seamen and Allied Workers Union has welcomed Etosha Fishing's decision to reopen its cannery.

The company announced that operations will resume at the end of this month to process the Horse Mackerel relief quota, allocated by the line ministry. The Cabinet approved the allocation of a 5,000-metric-ton horse mackerel quota to Etosha Fishing in June.

Since the moratorium on pilchards in 2017, the company has been struggling to survive because it relied on the species to operate its cannery. Efforts, including the import of pilchards from Morocco, were undertaken to save jobs, but this was not sustainable in the long run. As a result, more than 450 employees of the company were due for retrenchment by July this year as the company made annual losses.

After consultations with the government, the cabinet approved the allocation of a horse mackerel quota to employ the workers on a short-term basis.

The Secretary General of NASAWU, Erkki Shitana, says

“This employment for the workers is good news because it is the only source of income for them and their families; hence, to us, it's good news; maybe what we wanted for the company, for the employer, just to say we want decent employment and always a better salary. What we are requesting from the company is that the company make sure to pay these people the same salary as they used to before this unfortunate situation happened.”

In a press release, the company indicated that the 5,000-ton horse mackerel quota was allocated to allow the company time to implement a turnaround strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of Namibia's sole operational cannery. 

The company further expressed gratitude to the ministry for the intervention and NASAWU for their patience.