Unionists demand information on work related accidents

PATRICIA MAGANU
Staff Writing | Thursday April 30, 2009 00:00

'This lack of information does not make it easy for us to assess the degree of occupational safety and health. We therefore would like to call upon the authorities who would have the custody of such information to come forth and share this information in a user friendly manner to enable us to make meaningful contribution towards alleviating maladies in the work place,' she said.

Sebogodi further said that workers could only contribute to the solutions if they also possess the same information that authorities possess.  The unionist went on to say that even though BFTU is aware of the strides government has made in combating HIV and AIDS, it has also neglected HIV and AIDS in the work place.

'We bring up this issue because for the past three years or so an HIV and AIDS at the workplace policy document has been drafted and agreed upon by workers and employers with the involvement of government,' she said. She further stated that this policy document has been stalled by cabinet for reasons that have never been articulated to the concerned parties,' said Sebogodi.

She says that in 2007 they were told that Cabinet did not approve the document because they felt it was 'too pro-workers' at the expense of the employers.

'The document was returned to re-do it and since then the authorities have been sitting on it for over 12 months to date,' she said.  Sebogodi said the workers of Botswana advocate for a law that addresses injustices related to HIV and AIDS in the work place.

'We urgently call upon our authorities to move as they have done with the national response to HIV and AIDS and come to the rescue of the workers,' she said.

She further said that workers needed to be treated the same way regardless of where they work. She went on to say that it calls for realization that workers in informal economy should be accorded the same treatment that workers in the formal economy have.

'It has become the norm that conditions of workers in the informal economy, including occupational safety and health, have been marginalized or ignored.

BFTU recognizes the contribution the informal economy workers have on our economy and therefore would like to raise a concern that although these workers constitute a meaningful share to the country's GDP, they have been marginalized in our policies and legal instruments'.