Secretary general of BOSETU, Tobokani Rari has said it will be catastrophic if the ministry implements its plans to abolish overtime payment. "It will be moving 10 steps backward from the little progress that was made.Remember the overtime issue emanates from the unresolved hours of work in the teaching service," Rari said. "While unions had proposed a six-day week which translates to 10 hours a week and 26 days at the end of the month, government thought that this would be expensive and resorted to teachers working beyond normal hours and getting overtime," he explained from Geneva, Switzerland where he is attending the International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting.
Rari said that if the ministry goes ahead to stop overtime pay, then it would mean teachers will not do activities that are done after hours. Such activities are course work, remedial and enrichment activities, sporting activities and subject fairs. "This will really be catastrophic to education in Botswana. Such a step cannot be taken unilaterally without involvement of unions."That would be undermining the statutory enshrined principles of bargaining and consultation," he charged.
