The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) president, Japhta Radebe, has called on the government and local authorities to lead by example by providing industrial workers with medical aid and retirement pension schemes to enable them to meet increases in the cost of living.

In an interview with The Voice, Radebe said denial of these subsidized welfare schemes to the lowly paid industrial class employees estimated to be in excess of 20 000, exacerbates their efforts to make ends meet to overcome societal woes such as HIV/AIDS, alcohol and substance abuse and other psychosocial hazards, high cost of living, inadequate nutrition and economic stress.

"The government should subsidize this disadvantaged category of workers with employment-based welfare schemes and benefits that would enable them to survive some of the economic hardships," said Radebe. "Furthermore, a majority of these employees work in conditions mired with occupational hazards that can reduce their productive capacity through injury, permanent disability or death. The government should act now and not wait to hand out old age benefits to those who live up to age 65, when they have outlived their usefulness in the family and society."

Radebe said that employers should implement strict occupational safety and health ILO standards as an inalienable right. He warned that worker fatigue as a result of longer working hours or lack of sleep was one of the leading causes of accidents in the workplace. Even though some companies compensated workers for injury and death, this provided a temporary solution for the affected or bereaved families. "To ensure compliance, especially by the private sector employers, the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs should establish an inspectorate to ensure adherence to the ILO standards", he said.