Manual workers union official attacks Btv

Onalenna Kelebeile | Tuesday May 5, 2015 13:04

The attack came hardly two days before the Press Freedom Day commemorations. Despite advise from fellow union official Dudu Joel to stop the attack as the television crew was there on official duty, Maswabi persisted and said that it is within his rights to demand that he be not recorded.

He accused the national television of failing to air labour related or union issues and said he believes that Btv takes the data they record somewhere else.

Maswabi turned the television’s microphone away as he continued with his attack. He said President Ian Khama is the only subject of the state television news.

Media Institute of Southern Africa Botswana chapter’s director, Buyani Zongwane said during an interview that he is very surprised by such actions and said it was very unfortunate for Maswabi to have taken such a position.

Zongwane said he believes that Maswabi’s actions were his own position not that of Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) because he knows that the federation believes in the freedom of expression.

“I believe that it is the action of that official in his personal capacity because BOFEPUSU believes that freedom of expression is one of the rights that enabled them to champion their own rights. In the media fraternity, we work closely with union leadership as evidenced by the fact that they gave a solidarity message during the Press Freedom Day on Sunday,” he said. He added that there are many scenarios where BOFEPUSU supported the media and cited the recent Outsa Mokone case where the trade union supported and even applied to become the defendants at their own costs.

“I am however happy that the union leadership apologised to the media at the end of Maswabi’s address,” he added.

Manual Workers Union’s leader Johnson Motshwarakgole on the other hand said if the aggrieved media officials could not have walked out then the trade union would follow the matter to broker peace. He said the unions do not receive a fair coverage from the state television and said Maswabi was simply protesting this.

“Why didn’t they record his words and air them for the nation to make their own judgment?” he asked.

Before Maswabi’s outburst, the union’s national treasurer, Dudu Joel said that unity of workers and employers has the potential to grow the country’s economy and regretted that it is fellow Batswana who make workers to become beggars in their own land.  He said it was time for workers to seriously scrutinise the policies implemented by government to see how they benefit them and said it remains unfortunate that workers do not reap the benefits of the wealth they create for their country.  “It is sad that some of us help in contaminating this wealth,” she said.

Joel said trade unions are always accused of being politically aligned but said they are labour politicians just like state ministers are party politicians and said workers rights are trampled upon by politicians hence workers must defend themselves politically.  “Let us introspect and see where we have gone wrong. May be the leaders are not the right ones,” she said. She also said it is upon the working class to see what they are going to do to stop outsourcing after the six percent salary increase.  “Let us fight for our rights and ensure that policies in place are implemented because workers are not productive because they are disgruntled and heartbroken,” she said.