Namibia: High Court backs labour rights
Namibia's high court has ruled that labour agencies should be prevented from hiring out workers on a short-term basis to larger firms.
The High Court described the practice known as labour hire as exploitative and said it reduced people to personal property. It will be banned from March 2009.
Under the system workers have few employment rights and are often hired by the hour, being paid less than those employed directly by companies. Labour hire agencies argued they fulfilled seasonal and short-term labour requirements in sectors such as mining, fishing, agriculture, transportation and construction.
An estimated 10 000 to 16 000 workers are registered with labour brokers.
Source: Panos London
