Curtain closes on gov’t, nurses ‘Call to Duty’ feud

Mpho Mokwape | Monday October 16, 2023 06:00

The final judgement will be delivered following the government’s refusal to accept the discontinuation of the ‘Call to Duty’ for nurses or pay overtime as per a recent Industrial Court judgement by Justice Galesite Baruti. The government, through the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM), lost the case against the nurses and decided to lodge an appeal in an attempt to cling to the long standing ‘Call to Duty’ practice, which the nurses have argued is an abuse they have endured for a long time. In the ‘Call to Duty’, nurses are expected to report to duty when required to do so beyond their working hours. In the lower court, the nurses won the case where they had taken their employer to court seeking the discontinuation of the ‘Call to Duty’. Through the Botswana Nurses Union (BONU), the health workers argued that the ‘Call to Duty’ is illegal, encroaches on nurses' rest period and exposes them to abuse the by DPSM. The DPSM, represented by Oaitse Rammidi in its grounds of appeal, argued that the ‘Call to Duty’ has been part of the health profession and there is no way the Employment Act has been breached.

Rammidi explained that the ‘Call to Duty’ has been catered for in the nurses’ fixed 30% overtime allowance contrary to allegations by the nurses that it was not paid for. “The ‘Call to Duty’ arrangement is catered for in the employees’ 30% overtime allowance, which is also in line with the Employment Act. This simply means the Act has not been breached and that we have been compliant with it,” he said. However, the nurses are refusing to agree with the government that they are catered for and expected to work beyond their required working hours. The nurses’ lawyer, Mboki Chilisa, argued that the ‘Call to Duty’ ought to be paid as it forces the nurses to work overtime. He explained that the arrangement made by the DPSM was not reason enough for the nurses, more so that they are expected to go beyond the call of duty without being paid accordingly. “The Employment Act is clear in terms of how employees should be treated and it is not different for nurses. The government needs to pay or discontinue the ‘Call to Duty’ at once,” he said. While the government will be hoping for a turn of events, the nurses expect the apex court to finalise the matter by cementing Justice Baruti’s judgement.

In Justice Baruti’s judgement, he had ordered that the entire time that nurses and midwives are rostered to be on call, constitutes working time for which they must be paid for. He also emphasised that the time that a nurse or a midwife accompanies a patient on referral from one medical facility to another medical facility, and back, constitutes working time for which he or she must be paid for. He further said the employer shall “when computing overtime entitlement for nurses and midwives, take into account the time they are rostered to be on call and shall fully comply with Section 95(5) of the Employment Act". “Where the overtime worked exceeds the 30% commuted overtime allowance, the nurses or midwives so entitled shall be paid the excess after the overtime has been calculated using the formula stipulated in Section 95(5) of the Employment Act,” Justice Baruti ordered.

The nurses have for a long time been calling for the discontinuation of the ‘Call to Duty’ arguing that while other people work eight hours, they are expected to offer services as and when there is a patient who needs to be attended to without being compensated. The nurses further said while the government argues that the arrangement is catered for in their fixed 30% overtime allowance, it is not reason enough as they also work overtime hours. “Overtime is almost a daily thing for nurses as they most of time they knock off later than stipulated.” They alleged that they accumulate the set 14 hours monthly in a short period as they are sometimes forced to travel with patients and even assist them beyond their eight hours daily. “We wish the court will show that the Employment Act has been stumbled upon. ‘Call to Duty’ should be regularised with the Employment Act and comply with the laws of Botswana or be discontinued,” argued the nurses.

Meanwhile, the feud has been reportedly going on since 2010. First the matter was held by the Department of Labour between the parties and they failed to come to agreement. Following failure to reach common ground from engaging the employer, the nurses eventually got a certificate of failure to settle from the Commissioner of Labour and the matter was heard by the Industrial Court to determine its outcome.