Former employees of the Metro Cash & Carry store in Grootfontein and residents of the town held a demonstration against the management of the wholesalers for allegedly dismissing employees unfairly.

Although the current employees of the retailer did not attend the demonstration as they were allegedly not allowed to go on a lunch break, those that were dismissed, together with the community at large, demonstrated to stop management from further dismissing employees unfairly.

"There are two that are still on suspension, and if you look at the charges, they are just some simple things, and the person is dismissed, like coming home a little late, so they are saying you are doing something that you have not done, and at the end of the day, you are dismissed," said Hilifavali Shikongo, the Regional Coordinator for the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU).

"For all the charges that were provided by the company, there was no proof. When we asked for footage, we got different dates, so an employee was given two notices of a disciplinary hearing. One notice was for May 21, 2023. Just imagine that we are in August, but the disciplinary hearing takes place in August, which is not fair," added NAFAU Branch Coordinator Matthews Simon.

He says those notices are unfair as the incidents the employees are accused of are backdated to about 4 months ago and are considered null and void.

The union says fourteen employees have been dismissed since the beginning of the year.

The union wants the manager dismissed or transferred elsewhere.

NAFAU handed over a petition to the manager, who is still to comment on the allegations.