TotalEnergies ‘off-market’ contracts spark backlash from Namibian workers
Namibian contract workers at TotalEnergies' offshore oil project are protesting new employment terms they describe as non-negotiable and lacking in benefits. While the company maintains the new contracts improve conditions, workers feel pressured to accept them to gain industry experience.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between multinational energy corporations and local labor forces in emerging oil markets, raising questions about fair labor practices.
Some Namibian contract workers on TotalEnergies’ oil and gas project say they were handed new employment terms on a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ basis, with no room to negotiate.
TotalEnergies EP Namibia, a subsidiary of the French oil giant, is one of the front runners in developing Namibia’s offshore oil finds in the Orange Basin.
The company is currently negotiating the terms of the investment with the government. The project is expected to run for more than 25 years.
During the exploration phase, TotalEnergies took on around 13 workers through Apos, an oil and gas services firm that recruits and manages personnel for the industry, on rolling fixed-term contracts of between 12 and 24 months.
That arrangement has, however, left some Namibian workers aggrieved, citing contracts with no pension, limited medical aid cover and years without salary increases.
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