Gov't, doctors set for crucial talks

Innocent Selatlhwa | Wednesday May 7, 2025 06:12

The two parties on Friday settled a matter in which the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPS) had whisked BDU to court to compel doctors to attend emergency call duties beyond 24 hours in a month. Through a consent order, which was only agreed on late afternoon after the parties had engaged from the previous night, the two reached consensus and agreed to start talks over the weekend.

As the matter was to proceed before Justice Isaac Bahuma of the Gaborone Industrial Court, the parties — government (represented by Advocate Otsile Rammidi) and BDU by Dr Baatlhodi Molatlhegi — requested 30 minutes to finalise a consent order that they wanted made into an order of court.

With the parties seemingly failing to find each other, and numerous phone calls to powers that be, the break went on beyond lunch hour.

It was shortly after 2pm that Minister for State President, Moeti Mohwasa, and DPSM Director, Gaone Machola, joined the talks.

The parties reached consensus and agreed to go to the negotiation table to address the emergency call issue.

DPSM and BDU have since agreed that the negotiations will begin May 10 and end on or before May 20, 2025. The negotiations will be facilitated by Felix Lesetedi who has dealt with the parties before.

It was also agreed that whilst the negotiations are ongoing, all BDU members will be attending to emergency calls as rostered. On April 6, BDU decided to embark on minimum service provision for emergency calls across the country.

The union announced that they had, on April 3, 2025, given the government 72 hours to engage and finalise an emergency call to ensure non-disruption of health service provision across the public healthcare fraternity.

But the employer didn't heed the call, engage, or even respond, thus giving the impression of a non-caring partner. BDU would, as of April 7, 2025, in what they termed protecting its members against exploitation by the government by doing one emergency call per month that will equate to 24 hours.

Doctors were also to ensure minimum staff availability per hospital per call, and where there is no coverage, the employer party would use the public-private partnership at their discretion.

The government through DPSM then whisked BDU before the Industrial Court, accusing them of inciting a strike. The ongoing impasse resulted in a good number of doctors across the country not showing up for work.

This is at least according to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Professor Oathokwa Nkomazana.

She deposed a founding affidavit in an ongoing case in which the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) took on the BDU over what they term a strike by doctors.

The DPSM, acting on urgency, sought an order directing BDU to cease and desist from causing, procuring, counselling, or influencing its members, who are employed in the public service under essential services, from breaching their contracts of employment and/or committing an offence in terms of the Trade Disputes' Act, Cap. 48:02.

They also wanted the court to direct and order BDU to intervene and/or take reasonable steps to ensure that their members who are employed in the public service under essential services and/or who render essential services don't otherwise conduct themselves in an unlawful manner.

Justice Isaac Bahuma issued an interim interdict on April 18, 2025, effective immediately. BDU was to show cause as to why the order isn't to be made permanent in the ongoing case.