Builders World employees finally unionise

Innocent Selatlhwa | Wednesday February 17, 2016 16:04

Employees had alleged that their employer was denying them unionisation in order to cover industrial wrongdoing.

Management at the branch, however, denied that any effort had been made to seek recognition. BWFRWU national organising secretary, Quanch Kewagamang, said the union met with a senior World Group executive at the labour offices in Mochudi, where an agreement was reached to sign an agreement.

“It seemed like the management at the store had lost the papers we gave them but we are very happy that we finally received recognition.

“We gave them our papers to go through and I am hoping we will have signed before the end of today (Wednesday) before calling the workers to a general meeting,” Kewagamang said yesterday.

BWFRWU had complained that they registered almost all of the more than 40 employees at the branch but the company was refusing to recognise them.

“I wrote to them in October and took the letter to them together with other required documents and requested that we be given a response in 30 days. They did not do so.

“I kept going to them and the managing director told me they couldn’t help us because they did not have a Human Resources Manager,” he said in a previous interview.

Kewagamang said they will now be able to help their members as there are a number of complaints that have already been received.

Workers at the branch told Mmegi that they desperately wanted to unionise in order to tackle grievances they had with their working conditions.

“We have a number of issues as employees which we need the union to assist us with, including salaries, hiring and firing and others,” one worker said.