A shortage of inspectors, vehicles and funding have been hampering workplace inspections in the Erongo Region, where unions have expressed frustration over the protection of workers' rights.

The Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU) sends a large number of workers in the retail sector in the Erongo Region.

The Western Regional Coordinator, Levi Haimbodi, has informed a parliamentary standing committee at a hearing that effective labour enforcement is hardly taking place.

Every time I'm in their office, I follow up, asking, "How far are you?" until we're tired. We even put pressure on companies ourselves to comply, even though that is not our duty. We used to engage our colleagues, the labour inspectors, but I'm telling you, we failed to identify even a single company that improved or complied.

The Erongo labour office currently has only seven labour inspectors, despite a need for more personnel across the busy region.

Control Labour Inspector in the Erongo Region, Uarongera Ngaringombe, explained.

“I have three senior labour inspectors in Walvis Bay and one chief labour inspector. I have two labour inspectors in Omaruru and one labour inspector in Swakopmund, although there are supposed to be three. As for the other positions, I have not even seen them advertised yet.”

The shortage extends to occupational health and safety inspections, with only three inspectors serving the entire region.

Ngaringombe also highlighted the lack of vehicles that further limits the ministry's ability to reach workplaces.

“The Walvis Bay team doesn’t have a bakkie, so they have to come to Swakopmund, and there have to be four inspectors in one car. Imagine driving from one farm to another. How can they effectively dispatch themselves to carry out their work properly? As for funding, I really don’t know what to say because, every other time, there is a submission, but there are no funds.”

Ngaringombe added that the resource constraints also affect follow-up inspections, leaving officials to rely on phone calls or assistance from inspectors in other towns.

The committee was on a mission to assess employment conditions in the wholesale and retail sectors.