BOPEU�s Late Night Manoeuvres To Challenge BOFEPUSU

Staff Writer | Monday January 25, 2016 16:22

The BOFEPUSU application sought to restrict the Public Service Bargaining Service Council (PSBC) from discussing BOPEU’s application to join the bargaining council in salary negotiation talks, The Monitor has learnt.

Lawyers from both sides spent the night filing papers ahead of the urgent court matter that was due to be heard Friday morning before it was aborted.

BOPEU and three other public service unions, being Botswana Government Workers Union (BOGOWU) , Trainers and Allied Workers Union (TAWU), and Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) jointly applied to challenge BOFEPUSU.  

The PSBC’s items for the forthcoming meeting indicated that the new application for membership by BOPEU and company would be on the agenda when the bargaining council meets.

However, BOFEPUSU would not take this laying down and rushed to the industrial court arguing that there should be no other additional item on the agenda.

BOPEU, represented by Otto & Paul Attorneys, had also signalled their intention to raise points of law to argue that the admission of BOFEPUSU into the bargaining council in 2011 was flawed and illegal since the PSBC constitution is very clear on who should be admitted, a trade union and not a federation.

BOPEU were also going to argue that it should have been the Manual Workers Union admitted into the PSBC with the rest of the BOFEPUSU affiliates acting jointly with the workers union and not with the federation.

BOPEU President, Andrew Motsamai said, “We will be watching with interest the developments, optimistic that our application as members of the PSBC will have been duly dispensed with, paving way for BOPEU and our partners to start engaging in all bargaining matters for our members”.