allAfrica.com: Botswana: Workers March Against 15 Percent (Page 1 of 1)

The National Organising Committee of the National Collective Bargaining Labour Forum will today hold peaceful demonstrations across the country against the 15 percent salary increase for government workers.

The forum, which consists of the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Trainers and Allied Workers Union (TAWU), Botswana Secondary Teachers Union (BOSETU), Botswana Primary School Teachers Association (BOPRITA), Botswana Tribal Administration Service Association (BOTASA), Botswana Government Workers Union (BOGOWU) and Botswana Land Board and Local Authority Workers Union (BLLAWU), is one of the largest grouping of unions in the public sector. The program includes the handing of petitions to public officers across the country. The demonstrations will be held in Francistown, Maun, Palapye and Jwaneng while the workers in Gaborone will join their counterparts in Mochudi.

Eric Ditau, chairman of the committee and president of BOSETU says the Gaborone leg was suspended because government officials snubbed the unions. "We could not get anyone to accept our petition in Gaborone. Everyone in the government enclave is claiming to be too busy to receive our petition. But we won't be discouraged. We will soldier on," declares Ditau.

The 15 percent increment, which government announced early this year, following the recommendations of the Iqbal Ibrahim Salaries Commission, ignited debate between the workers' representatives and government, according to Ditau.

Initially, the unions questioned the composition of the salaries commission, citing the lack of proper consultation on the appointment of union representatives chosen to sit in the commission.

One of the commission's recommendations was a 30 percent increase in salaries. Subsequent to the release of the commission's report, government came up with the Adjustment Of Salaries Scales And Review Allowances Directive giving workers the 15 percent that is being contested by the trade unions. Attempts by union leaders to get an audience with the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Daniel Kwelagobe, hit a blank.

The demonstrations were initially scheduled for 31st March, but they were postponed. Late last month union leaders met and resolved to postpone the demonstrations to today. The postponement was made so that unions could "make the last effort to meet the Minister of Presidential Affairs who has on several occasions disappointed us by failing to give us audience and to honour the incoming new President... who will be sworn in on the 1st April," says a statement from the union released on 31 March. Among the objectives of the demonstration, according to an internal document shared among senior leaders of the union movement, is "to pressurise the Minister... to meet the seven workers' organisations on grievances of public sector workers' on the outcome of the Salaries Review Commission, to call the government to the bargaining table on conditions of service for public sector workers', and to pressurise the government to involve trade unions in the review of policies with a direct bearing on conditions of service for public service workers".

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