A year dented by uncertainty, job losses and BOPEU fights
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Monday December 27, 2021 06:00
When COVID-19 broke out in Botswana in 2020, and the government imposed a lockdown to restrict movement in an effort to control the spread of the virus, many people were engulfed in fear.
We all knew that it was not going to be easy for economies throughout the world to recover. The fear of job losses was imminent and no matter what, it was a sad reality we all had to face. Despite government’s imposition of the State of Emergency (SoE), which was amongst others meant to prohibit retrenchments and job losses, there was still a lot of uncertainty than relief.
While the SoE was still in place, there were several reports of job losses during the year under review. Labour unions reported cases of companies exploiting workers and contravening the labour laws during this period.
Fast forward to September 2021, there was even more anxiety and panic amongst workers when it was announced that the SoE would not be extended.
Therefore, workers were no longer protected under the Emergency Powers Regulations. The SoE ceased to exist on September 30.
After President Mokgweetsi Masisi said the country was preparing to exist the SoE, Mmegi published a story in which the minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mpho Balopi promised to guard against any massive job losses post the SoE.
In a telephone interview, Balopi said he would engage with social partners to find ways to ensure job security for the workers. He promised that government would put up regulations to prohibit companies from carrying out prejudicial dismissals.
However, in yet, another story Mmegi published Balopi revealed that 320 businesses had notified the Commissioner of Labour of their plans to retrench workers.
He revealed that out of the 320 retrenchment notifications from different businesses, only 20 were acceded to, which led to 204 workers being axed between April 2020 and July 2021.
He said the retrenchments came as a result of businesses struggling to keep their normal operations going due to the restrictions adopted by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19.
He said although there were regulations meant to prohibit retrenchments or dismissal of employees during the SoE, some companies were unable to retain staff due to closure of businesses or loss of revenue.
Balopi then explained that some of the companies that submitted applications to retrench workers eventually went back against their plans following discussions with authorities. What really caught my attention was the fact that he bemoaned that there were some companies that went ahead and dismissed workers without following the right processes.
“There are those businesses that did not follow the law. We have cases that were reported to us and we would like to appeal to those who did not report to come forward,” Balopi said.
It was also a relief to hear the minister saying there are also businesses that wanted to retrench but following discussions with authorities and being shown the law and other options they had apart from retrenchment, reviewed their decisions.
Balopi said there are plans to amend some sections of the Employment Act as well as the Trade Dispute Act to give the minister powers to make regulations that will govern the procedures that must be followed for smoothening issues of employment and labour relations.
Balopi also promised that they would set up a committee responsible for monitoring that the agreed guidelines on the Botswana Decent Work Country Programme are followed.
He added that above all, there should be a consistent social dialogue between social partners in order to reduce labour disputes post the SoE.
Another story that caught the eye this year was the infighting at one of country’s big unions in terms of membership count, the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU).
While unions exist for the protection of their members and workers’ rights including bargaining, it was disheartening to see how BOPEU leadership decided to shift focus from their mandate and pursue boardroom wars. It was a fight for the control of the union between president Masego Mogwera and her former deputy, Olefile Monakwe’s faction.
The war, which dragged on from 2019, took several twists during the year under review. I followed the story unfold, as the rival factions took turns to launch several court cases against each other much to the detriment of their members. In many of the judgements from the courts, judges could not hide their disappointments towards the BOPEU leadership for wasting the union money while their members suffered.
Although the Court of Appeal at the end brought the matter to finality, it was one of those stories that you never knew what to expect because every losing faction would the next morning do whatever it could to regain advantage.
All in all, 2021 was a tough year for many workers due to the uncertainty brought by COVID-19.