Court halts Bargaining Council activities
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Tuesday July 7, 2026 12:17
The interim order was granted on Friday after the parties consented to halt the operations of the PSBC until the court had ruled on the matter.
Manual Workers Union has taken the Attorney General, representing government, together with six trade unions to court, challenging the validity of the PSBC constitution, arguing that the framework under which the bargaining council is operating is legally questionable.
During Friday's proceedings, the Attorney General sought leave to file its answering affidavit out of time, an application that was granted by the court.
According to the court order, the Attorney General will file its answering affidavit by July 10, 2026, whilst the Manual Workers Union has until July 17 to submit its replying affidavit, if any. The matter has been set down for argument on July 27, 2026.
The court's intervention effectively freezes the activities of the Bargaining Council just days after it had announced what appeared to be a major breakthrough in efforts to restore collective bargaining in the public service after years of inactivity.
Only recently, the PSBC announced that government, acting as the Employer Party, and admitted trade unions had reached consensus on a framework to guide negotiations on salaries, conditions of service and broader public service remuneration reforms.
The unions admitted to participate in the process are the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU), Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU), Botswana Land Boards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) and BONU/BDU AJA.
The Bargaining Council had outlined an ambitious programme covering three key areas namely health sector conditions of service, the public service remuneration policy and salary structure, as well as the proposed 2026-2027 salary and conditions of service adjustments.
A capacity-building programme for negotiators had been scheduled for July 6 and 7 as part of preparations for the negotiations.
Government was also expected to submit its engagement paper on health sector conditions of service, while its counterproposal on salary adjustments was due on July 17.
Formal salary negotiations had been pencilled in for July 27 to 31, with discussions on health sector conditions of service and the broader remuneration policy expected to follow between August 3 and 7.
However, the Friday's court order now places those timelines in doubt, with all PSBC activities suspended until the court determines whether the bargaining council is operating under a valid constitution.
The latest development is likely to disappoint thousands of public servants who had anticipated the resumption of salary negotiations following years of delays and stalled engagement between government and labour unions.