The Minister of Justice and Labour Relations, Wise Immanuel, has highlighted progress made by his ministry over the past 6 years during a cabinet committee briefing at the Government Information Centre (GIC).

The ministry has issued 30 compliance orders, 20 of which are now under appeal. 

"We have also managed to successfully resolve over 2,100 labour complaints, recovering roughly around N$1,3 million in wages earlier owed to the affected employees. And these wages have since been paid over to the affected employees. Also, while we are speaking on the issue of the national minimum wage, it's important to pause and to inform the public once again, for we cannot over-communicate as this important component of our labour market is concerned."

The ministry has already conducted 1,377 workplace inspections and recovered N1,3 million in unpaid wages for workers.

The minister further reported that over 1,500 job seekers and 40 employers are registered on the ministry's digital platform.

"I also want to indicate or to stress once again that legal aid is designated or designed to assist indigent litigants who either have no income or end below a prescribed threshold. But it's also important to inform the public that previously the legal aid only catered for people that were earning an amount of about N$3,500, and if you were earning more than that, you couldn't qualify to get assisted through legal aid. But we have since increased that threshold from N$3,500 to N$7,000. As of now, anyone that wouldn't qualify, or the person that wouldn't qualify for legal aid, is only a person that is earning above N$7,000 monthly." 

The ministry has also tabled several key bills, including the Occupational Safety and Health Bill and the Mental Health Bill.

Community Courts continue to expand, with 37 courts established and over 2,000 cases handled in the last 6 months.