Govt appeals BOFEPUSU de-registration judgment
Correspondent | Friday June 6, 2014 14:25
During a press briefing yesterday BOFEPUSU said the government filed new affidavits to challenge the 2013 judgment, baring the Commissioner of Labour from de-registering the public sector federation.
BOFEPUSU secretary for education Samuel Molaodi said the federation viewed the government’s latest action as intent to destroy the federation.
Last year Leburu gave BOFEPUSU a lifeline when he delivered a default judgment setting aside the decision of the Commissioner of Labour to de-register the federation. This was after the Registrar of the Trade Unions and Employers’ Organisation had struck the BOFEPUSU off the roll in 2009 saying it was registered by mistake as it had failed to comply with the Registrar’s Act.
“The last time the government was in court they failed to give reasons why the federation should be de-registered. This is just a ploy to destroy the federation,” said Molaodi.
The BOFEPUSU deputy secretary general Ketlhalefile Motshegwa told Mmegi that they have received government’s affidavits.
“The government has applied for a re-hearing of the case on grounds that the judgment was given in their absence and that they want to be given a chance to argue their case,” said Motshegwa. He explained that the government has not provided much of a difference to their old grounds for their case except that in the their application for re-hearing of the case they are challenging the default judgment given by Leburu.
For his part BOFEPUSU secretary for labour Johnson Motshwarakgole said the decision by the government to take back the case to court was surprising as it was won on merit. He said there were bigger problems facing this country that need more focus.
“There are many problems in this country like corruption but it is funny that the government is wasting time trying to de-register a federation formed in the interest of workers,” he explained.
Motshwarakgole said the government was just wasting taxpayer’s money by taking the case to court after failing to appear in court on so many occasions despite being given a chance to argue their case.