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Old-age home workers unpaid for three months


STAFF members of the Katutura Old-Age Home in Windhoek say they have not received salaries for the past three months.

The City of Windhoek, which manages the home, however, says it has paid its part of the contribution to those employees who are meant to receive a volunteer allowance.

The home currently has 21 residents, of which 13 are men and eight are women.

According to a staff member who prefers to remain anonymous, their salary distribution has never been consistent.

“Getting our salaries late is not new, but this time around the situation is unbearable,” she says.

She says the last time they were paid was in June.

“Personally, I have been a volunteer at this old-age home for almost 16 years, but because of my passion and love for old people it is very difficult to quit, “ she says.

She says after 16 years she has still not been appointed as a permanent staff member.

“I don’t like that ‘volunteer’ word, because being labelled as one after all those years is just so unfair,” she says.

Another staff member says she is running into debt.

“I am called to pay up every day, but where do I get the money to pay off all my debts if I even struggle with taxi fares?” she asks.

Staff members are therefore pleading with the City of Windhoek to start compensating them on time so that they are able to sustain their families.

“When we call the management we are referred to other people who refer us back to the management. We really want the government to intervene, because it is getting out of hand.

“We get paid N$4 000 per month, and that is the money we normally use to feed our families and come to work.

“Sometimes I feel like leaving, but I have been taking care of my old people for way too long. They feel like family,” she says.

City of Windhoek spokesperson, Harold Akwenye on Wednesday said a recommendation has been made to fully accommodate the old-age home workers under the municipality’s pay structure.

“The City of Windhoek is aware of the delay in volunteer incentives for the volunteers of the Katutura Old-Age Home. It should be made clear that incentives were paid partly by the City of Windhoek, and that the majority by the home’s main donor, Prestige Fisheries Holdings, of which the home has a 2% share, has not received payment for several months without notification.

“The council has paid volunteers what is due to them, and an MC Item was drafted and submitted, recommending that the volunteers be fully paid by the council. This item is due to serve this month,” Akwenye said.





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