BOFEPUSU wins registration war

Oarabile Mosikare | Tuesday June 17, 2014 06:59

 

Appearing before Justice Michael Leburu chief state counsel David Moloise submitted that they served the respondents with application to withdraw the rescission. Moloise also said they were tendering wasted costs to BOFEPUSU. Defending BOFEPUSU, Advocate Sidney Pilane appearing with Tshiamo Rantao submitted that it was important that the record indicate that the judge gave his judgment last July and reasons were given later.  In the end Leburu ordered that the application for rescission is withdrawn and the state shall bear the costs for the application. 

Early this month Leburu delivered a ruling between BOFEPUSU and government over the decision by the Registrar of Trade Unions to de-register BOFEPUSU. For years the federation has been fighting for its recognition after the Registrar deregistered it on the grounds that it failed to satisfy the dictates of the Trade Unions and Employers Organisation Act. 

While he agreed with the state’s contention that the primary impetus of section 45 was to ensure that the process of federating is democratically reached by every member of the union, Leburu asked whether the requisition of voting by each and every member, supervised by a government official, was necessary to accomplish such a democratic imperative. He agreed with the unions that the procedure outlined by the Act in Regulation 13 is cumbersome and impractical. 

“Delegated representatives can always be used to vote on behalf of their individual members and such process would still muster the democratic imperative of federating. What purpose would be served by individually calling out members to present themselves to a government supervisor before voting? Such a tedious process impairs and hinders BOFEPUSU’s right to federate,” said Leburu in his judgment.  

Affiliates of BOFEPUSU are National Amalgamated Local & Central Government Workers ‘Union (NALCGWU), the Botswana Land Boards, the Local Authorities and Health Workers’ Union (BLLAHWU), the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) and the Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union  (BOSETU).