Gov't, unions talks scheduled for Tuesday
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday October 4, 2019 12:21
The Commissioner of Labour is expected to mediate between Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) and the six cooperating trade unions after both parties failed to agree on conditions of service for the Public Service with regard to moving each cadre one grade up, upgrading all supervisory positions to grade D4, reviewing of allowances, converting grade E&F to total remuneration and creating positions of senior permanent secretaries.
The unions are Botswana Land Boards and Local Authorities Health Workers’ Union (BLLAWHU), Botswana Public Employees’ Union (BOPEU), Botswana Sectors of Educators’ Union (BOSETU), National Amalgamated Local, Central Government and Parastatal Workers’ Union (NALCGPWU), Botswana Teachers’ Union (BTU) and Botswana Nurses’ Union (BONU).
There are issues that the unions and the DPSM agreed to disagree on, that the union party proposed that all Public Service employees be moved one grade up in the salary structure.
According to papers filed, the employer was unable to accede to the proposal due to budgetary constraints, stating that the proposal was unaffordable and unsustainable.
Union party also proposed that all supervisory positions be moved to grade D4 as per the Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) directive number 1 of 2008.
The trade union party’s position was that in the case of teachers, it was an anomaly that was created by the implementation of levels of operation therefore it should be rectified with immediate effect without going through a job evaluation exercise.
However, the employer’s counter proposal was that a comprehensive organisational review and evaluation of relevant jobs should be undertaken effective October 1, 2019 up to June 2020.
The party further emphasised that upgrading cannot be done in isolation as it also affects other cadres within the Public Service.
The employer proposed a holistic review of allowances, including scarce skills and other retention allowances for purposes of informed decision effective from 1st December 2019.
But the union party agreed with the review on condition that the affected employees allowed to enjoy the allowances they are already earning as a personal right, in line with the PEMANDU consultancy recommendation with respect to 80/20 rule. The employer party did not agree to the proposal, maintaining that the decision will be determined by the outcome of the review.
The parties further agreed to enhance the salaries of employees on salary grades A3 to D1 effective 1st October 2019 as follows A3 to B5= P500.00 /pm, B4 to C4= P400.00/pm, C3 to C1=P350.00/pm and D4 to D1=P300/pm.
They also agreed that gratuities for all employees on fixed term contracts of more than 12 months but not exceeding five years, including former industrial employees be standardised at 30% across the public service. The thinking is that the arrangement would remove the existing inequalities and secure long-term financial security for service employees at lower grades with immediate effect.
The fan shaped salary structure is envisaged to be in place by June 1, 2020, to enable factoring into the budgetary cycle for the financial year 2021/22.