Coloured and Baster teachers in Namibia have been meeting to decide whether to call a general strike in pursuit of their demand for equal pay. Considerable bitterness has been created by the authorities' decision, earlier this year, to award a 20% salary rise exclusively to white teachers, thereby substantially increasing the wage gap between the races. White female teachers in Namibia with matriculation certificates and two years teacher training, for example, received increases of R1,536 a year (bringing their maximum annual salaries to R6,750), while their Coloured counterparts received a mere R7.50 a year (maximum salaries R4,320 per annum). (These salaries are of course far higher than the wages earned by the vast majority African workers in Namibia. In 1976, for example, the Chairman of the South West Africa Agricultural Union revealed that the average cash wage for agricultural workers was R180 per annum for employees of at least 18 months standing. Labour and Discrimination in Namibia, ILO, 1977 p.62).
While the South African authorities in Namibia have stated that the principle of "equal pay for equal responsibilities" is being "investigated", there is yet no sign of it being put into practice. Speaking at a press conference on 21 March, M. D. J. Steenkamp, Assistant to the SWA Administrator General and Chairman of a Committee on Labour set up by Justice Steyn earlier this year, claimed that the authorities "wished to implement (equal pay) as soon as possible". However, the decision would rest on the costs involved and whether an independent Namibian state felt that it could afford it.
As far as strike action was concerned, Steenkamp told journalists that the SWA Administrator General had the same authority as the South African Government. However, he warned, "to strike is a crime". Under section 58 of the Wage Industrial Conciliation Ordinance, No. 35 of 1952, strikes by African workers in Namibia are effectively illegal.
