BOPEU calls on government to engage Labour movements in restructuring Ministries
Correspondent | Tuesday February 15, 2022 15:14
In their budget review the public sector trade Union says the approved proposal for restructuring of ministries which has since been scheduled to commence from the 1st April 2022, has brought about discomfort to the organized labour movement as none of critical stakeholders were engaged nor consulted about the intention. “Furthermore, the government is on a quest to reduce the wage bill, which in actual fact could lead to abolishment of some posts or vacancies, it is unfortunate that lack of consultation on the proposed move has uncertainties to those employed by those Ministries. The government continues to make reference to the development of a strategy to rationalize State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) by merging, closing and/or divesting of Government stakes in some SOEs. BOPEU, an organized labour movement for Public Enterprises did not engage with the government in this regard. This greatly undermines and disregards employer-employee relations and poses a threat to employee welfare”.
The plans to restructure some Ministries and rationalize SOEs by the government, draws back some legislative reviews such as the Credit Information Act which aims to improve the efficiency of the credit system ensuring the protection of borrowers. It is important to indicate that it is overbearing that some financial institutions will lose confidence on employees that might be perceived to be affected by the proposed plans and exercise financial exclusions in order to reduce risks thereby weakening public finances and economic transformation.