Freedom of Association, the right to organize and collective bargaining in the Namibian Correctional Service: recommendations for law reform
type: CreativeWork
description: The study explores the laws, policies and practices that prohibit the Namibian Correctional Service from organising and bargaining collectively on terms and conditions of their employment contracts. The study made recommendations based on the findings. The study was motivated by the fact that Namibia as a member state of the International Labour Organisation has ratified conventions concerning the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (Convention No. 98 of 1949), and the Right of Freedom of Association (Convention No. 87 of 1949). Namibia ratified the two above-mentioned conventions on the 3rd of January 1995. Convention 87 and Convention 98 provide prison staff the right of freedom of association and the right to organise, and the right to bargain collectively. These rights are also enshrined in the Namibian Constitution that “all persons shall have the right to freedom of association”. However, the Namibian Correctional Service does not exercise these rights due to legislative exclusion. The Labour Act No. 11 of 2007 which provides for employers and employees to organise and bargain collectively does not apply to the Namibian Correctional Service. Despite many inquiries and advice from the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations that Namibia must take steps to ensure that the Correctional Staff enjoy the guarantees under the two above mentioned Conventions, the Correctional Service is still not enjoying the right of freedom of association and the right to organise and to bargain collectively. The research study employed a qualitative approach. The qualitative design enabled the researcher to gather secondary data from legislation, case laws, magazines, reports, and other relevant documents. Data were analysed using the desktop data analysis technique. The study revealed that stringent national laws; lack of National Supervisory Body oversight of the implementation of ratified Conventions; budget constraints; shortage of Hum…
abstract: The study explores the laws, policies and practices that prohibit the Namibian Correctional Service from organising and bargaining collectively on terms and conditions of their employment contracts. The study made recommendations based on the findings. The study was motivated by the fact that Namibia as a member state of the International Labour Organisation has ratified conventions concerning the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (Convention No. 98 of 1949), and the Right of Freedom of Association (Convention No. 87 of 1949). Namibia ratified the two above-mentioned conventions on the 3rd of January 1995. Convention 87 and Convention 98 provide prison staff the right of freedom of association and the right to organise, and the right to bargain collectively. These rights are also enshrined in the Namibian Constitution that “all persons shall have the right to freedom of association”. However, the Namibian Correctional Service does not exercise these rights due to legislative exclusion. The Labour Act No. 11 of 2007 which provides for employers and employees to organise and bargain collectively does not apply to the Namibian Correctional Service. Despite many inquiries and advice from the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations that Namibia must take steps to ensure that the Correctional Staff enjoy the guarantees under the two above mentioned Conventions, the Correctional Service is still not enjoying the right of freedom of association and the right to organise and to bargain collectively. The research study employed a qualitative approach. The qualitative design enabled the researcher to gather secondary data from legislation, case laws, magazines, reports, and other relevant documents. Data were analysed using the desktop data analysis technique. The study revealed that stringent national laws; lack of National Supervisory Body oversight of the implementation of ratified Conventions; budget constraints; shortage of Hum…
author: Shilinge, Foibe
keywords: Law
date published: 2023
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:07Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Commercial Law

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40206