allAfrica.com: Botswana: Trade Unions Demand Meeting With Minister (Page 1 of 1)

Botswana Public Sector Collective Bargaining Labour Forum last Friday demanded a meeting between the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Daniel Kwelagobe and union leaders to negotiate an agreeable salary hike.

The forum demanded that as a matter of urgency, the government should come to the bargaining table with trade unions to negotiate mutually acceptable conditions of service and salaries in good faith. It called for unconditional reinstatement of the travel leave concession. Reading a petition to the Assistant District Officer, Innocent Maotwe on behalf of the unions, BLLAW chairman (Selebi-Phikwe branch) John Morobolo demanded that government should give them a report of the commission that reviewed civil servants' terms and conditions of service. "It is unfair to deny us information that deals with our livelihood, concerns and our welfare and it is against the principle of transparency."

The unions said that any recommendation of the commission that has been referred to ministries and have direct impact on the conditions of service should form an agenda in the negotiations at the national bargaining council. They want payment of acting allowances to be attached to a minimum acting period of seven days.

"Permanent collective bargaining structures should be put in place as per Trade Dispute Act. These include separate Sectoral Bargaining Councils for Land Boards, Local Authorities, Teachers, Industrial Class, General Public Service to separately bargain for specific issues peculiar to their sectors. Then the National Public Service Bargaining Council to bring all sectors to negotiate on issues cutting across the Public Service. We are ready to negotiate," the petition said.

The unions demanded a response to their petition by April 15 and indicated that they reserve the right to take action if their call is not heeded. They say the White Paper that government came up with from the commission's recommendations addressed only one term of reference. However, government has already taken policy decisions on how salaries and conditions of service would be decided even before the appointment of the commission.

They cited that government had already taken a policy that salaries will constitute less than four percent of the GDP and less than 40 percent of the overall budget. The unions said such examples prompted them to wonder why the government appointed a commission. The petition states that not withstanding observations by previous commissions, the public service salaries are below the lower quartile and the subsequent 22 percent cumulative erosion of salaries from inflation. "It is regrettable that the government chose to play to the international gallery. "The petition said the White Paper has not come up with any incentive to retain and attract qualified staff for efficient and effective service delivery. It noted that this will impact negatively on the implementation of the country's policies and programmes. It expressed concern that the government has unilaterally withdrawn certain benefits like leave concession without collective bargaining with the trade unions. "This is violation of the International Labour Organisation, Trade Dispute Act and it is against the principle of the sanctity of the rule of law which is one of the cardinal principles of democracy." Trade unions that were represented include BTU, Botswana Tribal Administration Service Association (BOTASA), Botswana Government Workers Union (BOGOWU), BOSETU, BOPRITA and BLLAWU. In view of the complexity and seriousness of issues that workers believe have not been addressed by the White Paper, trade unions have come together to form a single negotiating body - Botswana Public Service Sector Collective Bargaining Labour Forum (BPSCBLF). The forum will coordinate unions' interaction with government on matters of collective bargaining.

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine


Use our pull-down menus to find more stories

Today's Most Active Stories