Agricultural Employers Association Profile and Activities

The Agricultural Employers’ Association (AEA) is an affiliate of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and deals purely with labour related issues of the agricultural sector.  The Association’s business is conducted at the head office of the NAU in Windhoek.

• The AEA deals with Human Resource Management for commercial agriculture on international, national, regional and Farmers’ Association levels.
• The AEA initiated a private pension fund for agricultural employees (Namibia Agricultural Retirement Fund)
• The AEA undertakes wage surveys on a bi-annual basis to provide data for decision making on all levels.
• The organization initiated an HIV/AIDS policy for the commercial agricultural sector and is currently in the process of developing manuals for members for the practical implementation of the policy.
• The AEA is actively involved in input on the new Labour Act.
• The AEA supports initiatives from other organisations to promote access to health care for farm workers as well as education on the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

AFFILIATIONS:

• As an affiliate of the Namibia Employers Federation (NEF), the AEA is represented on the Labour Advisory Council (LAC) and its sub-committees as well as the Social Security Commission (SSC).

REPRESENTATION ON FORUMS AND COMMITTEES:

• The AEA is a founding member of the Namibia Agricultural Labour Forum (NALF) that deals constructively with issues, such as minimum wages and the Kameeta Commission’s recommendations.  Other partners on this forum are the Ministry of Labour, the NNFU and NAFWU.
• The AEA is represented on the Commission of Enquiry into the Eviction of Long Serving Farm Workers and submits timely inputs.
• The AEA has representation on a Committee that is headed by the Ministry of Labour & Social Welfare and the ILO on the prevention of Child Labour in Namibia.

SERVICES:

•  The AEA supports agricultural employers by supplying labour management documentation, like pro-forma employment contracts, wage remittance advice, guidelines to disciplinary procedures, attendance registers, SSC forms and certificates to acknowledge the long service of employees etc.
• Individual telephonic advice on labour matters is available to members, but more complicated cases are referred to the office of the Ministry of Labour and/ or privately operating labour consultants to be solved on a higher level.
• The AEA collects important information regarding labour in the agricultural sector and distributes it to their members.