BONELA calls for HIV law

OLIVER MODISE
Staff Writer | Tuesday May 6, 2008 00:00

Speaking at Tsholofelo Hall on Labour Day last Thursday, BONELA legal affairs officer Uyapo Ndadi appealed to the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Peter Siele, to come up with a law to protect workers living with HIV/AIDS from victimisation.

'We are worried that our government seems to lack the political will in this matter of grave concern and importance,' he said. He argued that many people are being discriminated in the workplace because they have HIV.

He revealed that the situation is worrisome because there are numerous complaints of employees denied time off to go for their monthly ARV treatment. 'Let us do away with the HIV policy language that is doing the rounds in government on this matter and talk of HIV law enactment,' he stated.

Ndadi said he was surprised that government want to take the policy route when it can easily enact a law. He questioned why the Domestic Violence Act and Security and Intelligence Act have been passed though they were not taken through the policy level. He pointed out that Botswana's neighbours like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola are ahead since they have a law on HIV.

Ndadi complained about the backlog of cases at the Industrial Court. He said this normally results in unreasonable delays in hearings. He said that it was disheartening that the case of the sacked 461 Debswana employees took two years to resolve.

'As if the two-year delay in resolving the dispute was not enough, their case was thrown out on technical grounds,' he said. He added that this is a clear sign that the Industrial Court is not a court of equity.

He said BONELA is concerned that the Industrial Court is conservative in approach when it comes to compensation and reinstatement of workers. Ndadi criticised the court for giving small compensatory awards even in unchallenged cases.

He said the court has made matters worse by often failing to reinstate workers despite the country's few employment opportunities. BONELA has cautioned union leaders not to fight one another as this has the potential to compromise their strength. The celebrations were hosted by Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU).