More than 500 cleaners at the City of Windhoek have vowed to continue demonstrating until their demands are met.

The workers claimed to have lost trust in their trade unions, saying they are tired of the back and forth with the management after numerous failed engagements.

Some are alleged to have worked for the municipality for close to 30 years with no benefits, and some have gone on retirement with no benefits.

"The type of work we do will never finish; I have been at the organization for 24 years and am still on contract; we don't have a pension or anything. Some colleagues retired with nothing; they only went with one month's salary. We have no bonus, nothing," said Padelia Hamukwaya, an affected employee.

The contract workers go home with an amount of about N$3500, which they claim is not enough to survive on.

A spokeswoman for the City of Windhoek, Lydia Amutenya, maintains that the demonstration is illegal as management was not informed about it.

The workers' grievances are currently at the Labor Commissioner's office and are expected to be heard on the 27th of this month.

According to Amutenya, the management is waiting on the way forward from the Labor Commissioner.

Later, management met with the workers and advised them to follow the right procedures through their respective unions, the Namibia Public Workers Union and the Namibia Local Authority Workers Union.

However, the workers left the meeting and vowed to continue camping on the premises.

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Selima Henock