The day workers burnt Francistown
Lebogang Mosikare | Friday April 29, 2016 13:57
The experts posit that it would be a pie in the sky to suggest that the relationship between the employer and trade unions would be rosy if they do not treat each other as equal partners in the bargaining process.
It is difficult, and an almost impossible task, they add, to separate unions and politics because their interests are inherently intertwined.
Professor Roger Southall, who has authored several books on political and labour issues, says: “The centrality of politics in both promoting the productive forces and determining how its product will be allocated clearly shows that trade union struggles must be political. Whoever controls the state controls the character and direction of the heavy state involvement in society and economy that seems to be necessary in all developing and third world development countries.”
The 2011 historic strike by the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) is an example of how poor handling of workers’ demands can negatively affect people, even those outside the spheres of politics and unions.
This reporter remembers vividly how he was caught in the crossfire of the government and workers turf wars when for the first time in his life, he inhaled tear gas canisters that were used by anti-riot police to disperse workers near the then Thapama roundabout.
Some workers burnt tyres on the roads leading to the city centre from Chedu Choga playgrounds, which were designated as their assembly point for the striking government employees.
Former Chairman of BOFEPUSU in Francistown, Thatayamodimo Xhabue, remembers the strike as if it just happened yesterday.
He said the strike was inevitable because the state had adopted a big brother mentality when dealing with workers’ welfare issues while unions wanted all their issues to be resolved around the table.
Xhabue, who retired from the civil service this year, thinks that bad blood still exists between the employer and unions.
He places the blame on the government for the poisoned relationship between the two parties. Worse still, the government continues to negotiate with unions in bad faith.
He said: “The 2011 mother of all strike was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Before and after 2011, government had deliberately spurned many overtures from trade unions to sit around the table and discuss various issues affecting workers. At the end we were left with no choice but to strike although I must add that it came as a last resort.”
He cited the recent unilateral three percent salary increment as one of the examples that government would not climb down from its earlier position of sidelining workers, even if such decisions directly affects them.
The former unionist thinks that trade unions in Botswana are going in the right direction and have achieved a lot despite the state-created hurdles.
“The workers now know that they can use their vote as a voice to make their demands heard unlike in the past,” he said. “Workers should also take it upon themselves to make sure that they sensitise the public about the importance of voting for people who can listen to their demands unlike the current regime which does not care about them.”
Xhabue added that public servants take care of many dependants despite their measly salaries hence they should take it upon themselves to educate the public about ‘convenience voting’.
The acerbic former National Amalgamated Central, Local and Parastatal Manual Workers Union (NACL and PMWU) branch chairperson said one of the workers’ challenges was that government was using the privatisation exercise as a tool to reduce the membership of unions.
“Government knows very well that unions survive on subscriptions from its members hence they outsource some jobs especially those for lowly paid workers,” he said. “I am also worried because workers have lost the momentum and steam that they had during the 2011 strike which gives the state a false perception that it is sitting on a comfort zone while the opposite is true.”
Employees should discard the fear of being fired from work for engaging in lawful strikes because it is a well-known fact that in every struggle there will be some casualties, said Xhabue as a May Day message to workers.
Tshekatsheko Lekang, the chairperson of BOFEPUSU in Francistown, said since 2011, their relationship with the employer had been deteriorating.
“Our relationship with the employer is even worse than in 2011 and it does not look as if it will get better anytime soon. The employer does not want to follow laid down procedures governing its relationship with unions hence the current stalemate,” said a worried Lekang, adding that government does not even respect the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC) of which she is a founder and critical member.
Lekang said BOFEPUSU made notable achievements since the 2011 strike because the public was aware that the government was unnecessarily fighting the trade unions.
“The media has enlightened people to understand what we have been saying all along. In the past the public was of the view that unions were deliberately trying to frustrate government efforts aimed at improving the working conditions of workers but they now know who is at fault,” said Lekang.
He added that the recent unilateral three percent salary increment that was imposed on workers but later dismissed by the courts is a good example that the employer is bullying the workers.
However, Lekang laments that government was still resisting change in its unilateral, manipulative and outdated ways of negotiating with workers which does not bode well for a healthy working relationship between the parties who should by now be having a symbiotic relationship.