PHK accuses private sector of exploiting worker
Boitshepo Majube | Tuesday December 3, 2013 16:36
Speaking at the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) annual dinner held in Gaborone, Kedikilwe said some businesses maliciously misinterpret minimum wage by paying it to employees who have served for many years under the pretext that government prescribed it. Kedikilwe said government only prescribes the minimum below which payment would be illegal.
'But government does not prescribe a maximum,' he said, further noting that employers are at liberty to pay their employees any amount above the minimum.
Kedikilwe also said that government has established the Competition Authority to promote free and fair competition.
'We believe that an anti-competitive environment makes life difficult for new entrants, especially small and medium sized businesses,' he said.
He pointed out that new entrants are crucial to the growth of the private sector. 'It is against this background that the Competition Authority has to ensure that new entrants do not have to put up with undue impediments by existing operators, including laws and regulations,' he stated.
Kedikilwe said government's approach towards economic development is to have the private sector as the engine of economic growth. He said that government has formulated the Privatisation Policy, which should enable the private sector to play an increased role in the various sectors of the economy.
'It is therefore not by accident that we continue to promote and proclaim the private sector as the route to prosperity for Botswana. Privatisation, in my firm view, should and would unleash avenues for the development of a robust private sector for sustainable job creation,' he said. Stating the viewpoint of the private sector, BOCCIM president Lekwalo Mosienyane stated that market forces should be allowed to dictate terms. 'The market determines how much an employee should be paid,' he said. Mosienyane stated that BOCCIM is interested in the minimum wage, and advices that it should not be too low. 'We advocate for the minimum wage to be made in-line with the provisions of the economy,' he said, adding that BOCCIM cannot interfere with market forces. Mosienyane said the contract of employment involves two parties, the employer and employee, who together negotiate looking at market forces. 'The two come to a decision after considering all the facts in their environment,' he said. He however, pointed out that BOCCIM monitors the minimum wage.