There have been fears that the strike, which was last week reported to have caused Anglo American shares to tumble would adversely affect Debswana.
But Sesinyi stressed that the company has made it clear that the strike is illegal and it will not be condoned.
“This is about people ignoring the court orders and I don’t think government or the media should condone that.
“I am not worried about the image of the company. People will respect our stand and if anything, it is the image of the trade unions which don’t respect the laws of Botswana that will be affected.”
The on-going strike action has attracted media attention and this does not seem to be doing the country any good.
Already President Festus Mogae, who was initially involved in brokering a peace deal between employees and Debswana management is busy trying to counter-attack damaging reports from the international media.
The secretary to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has claimed that it is government, which declared the strike illegal.
A statement from the Office of the President said the letter was misleading in that it was not government but the Industrial Court, which declared the strike illegal.
“The statement that the BMWU has approached the court to overturn a government declaration is therefore false,” the statement said.
The statement added that Botswana respects the rule of law and would not take any action, which could reasonably be construed to be contravening or in contempt of an on-going judicial process.
The Permanent Secretary to the President, Eric Molale said last week that government was committed to ensuring that constructive industrial relations prevailed at the mines.
“I would strongly advise you to ensure that the membership of your organisation is acting in full compliance with the law before once more seeking to approach the Executive,” said Molale.
Press Secretary to the President, Dr Jeff Ramsay confirmed to Mmegi yesterday that Mogae, is “no longer proactively involved” in brokering peace between the workers and Debswana.
“Unfortunately, subsequent negotiations between the union and management reached an apparent impasse,” he said but added: “It remains his (Mogae’s) desire that the union and management come together to reach an amicable agreement”.
But the union’s spokesperson, Chimbidzani Chimidza said the President’s initial intervention “was just a delaying tactic”.
In their petition addressed to Mogae a fortnight ago, the union said: “Our members are losing faith in your office and we have not seen the results of your interventions on the current negotiations”.
A highly placed source said Mogae and some members of his cabinet are incensed by Debswana’s handling of the whole saga.
The source alleged that the management had misled Mogae on the issue of bonuses. The union had wanted to go on strike on August 14 but were persuaded by Mogae who felt that the issue was a national one and he should be allowed to help find an amicable solution.
