Acting Executive Director in the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation, Advocate Otniel Podewiltz, has emphasised the significant role that the Labour Advisory Council (LAC) plays in the context of social dialogue and tripartism.

Advocate Podewiltz said this at the 15th LAC inauguration in Windhoek.

Advocate Otniel Podewiltz noted that the ministry views the council as a vital labour market institution and an important consensus-building structure.

"By law, the LAC is required to investigate and advise the Minister on matters ranging from collective bargaining, national policy around basic conditions of employment and health, safety, and welfare at work, the prevention and reduction of unemployment, and legislative matters, to mention just a few. In terms of law, the LAC has the mandate to deliberate on a large array of labour and employment issues."

Podewiltz noted that the council comes in at a challenging time in the history of labour relations and is required to think outside the box to address issues of high unemployment, skills shortages, and a lack of sustainable wages, among others.

"You are joining the LAC at a time when Namibia is pushing for resilience and building forward. The developments around Green Hydrogen and in the oil and gas industry, the recently conducted review of Vision 2030, the pending development of our 6th National Development Policy, NDP6, the work done under the Havard Growth Lab around Diversification and the Namibian Economy in general, and the selection of Namibia as a pathfinder country for inclusion in the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transition in Namibia are but some of the current government initiatives that surely have a tremendous impact on the labour market ."

The LAC Chairperson, Bro-Matthew Shinguadja, promised that the board would deliver on its mandate.

"It is an established fact that, like any field, the labour and employment space is faced with unprecedented challenges such as unstable, hence unpredictable, labour relations influenced by modernization of workplaces and artificial intelligence, higher levels of unemployment, and a skills shortage in some critical areas. The ED mentioned Green Hydrogen; that's an area in which we try to see how to advise the minister on the skills needed in that area; it's a very new area to us."

The LAC is a tripartite body appointed for a three-year term, consisting of 13 members drawn from the state, trade unions, and employer organisations.