Gov't, unions head for 'make or break' finale
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday August 23, 2019 14:24
The public sector unions have now agreed on an allowance for their members and are also said to be willing to sit down with the government to negotiate a deal.
The 6CTU are Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union, Botswana Nurses Union, Botswana Teachers Union, Botswana Land boards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union, National Amalgamated Local and Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union and Botswana Public Employees Union.
The unions held their last meeting on Wednesday in which they resolved that A and B salary scales begin at P2, 500 or for A3 scale to move to A2 scale.
“The unions’ main contention is that A and B scales earn lower than P2, 500 on salary scale. This means that the money for their pension is also less and therefore they are usually given their pension when they retire because their pension is very small in monetary terms. In the last meeting, government abandoned the issue of allowances. It rather negotiated on what is inflationary allowance of P500 for A scale, B scale P400, C scale P350 and D scale P250,” a source told this publication.
A source observed that unions want the government to maintain a gap between scales and increase money from A to B scale. The unions agreed that if the government were not bending on any of the resolutions suggested by them, then they would have been left with no option but to declare a dispute. “The union leaders will be force to go around the country to inform the members who will start peaceful demonstrations while process of a potential strike are being undertaken. If the government is not taking unions seriously, then the strike will be on even during Election Day. Mind you, the government has been using civil servants as election officers,” the source added.
The unions were acting after absorbing pressure from their members. The unions had proposed that in line with the dispensation that was extended to the disciplined forces, the value of A3 salary band should be improved to that of A2 salary band, which will have a ripple effect on the rest of the salary scales/bands in the public service. “The negotiations are starting on Sunday. We hope the negotiations would take less than a week. Yes all the six trade unions will negotiate together. I do not believe that there is any union which could pull out,” chairperson of the six trade unions, Samuel Molaodi said in an interview.
Still on the matter, the 6 CTU once invoked clause 12 of the rules of engagement that allows any of the parties to the negotiations to consult its mandate givers. Both unions and government requested cool of time recently so that they could come and negotiate with sober mind.
UB political Science Lecturer, Keaoleboga Dipogiso said it is going to be difficult for unions this time around to mobilise public service to strike after what happened to them in 2011.
“The repercussions that some public service workers suffered during 2011 may make them to drag their feet. The issue of ‘no work, no pay’ for three months was not an easy one for the members and less people might strike compared to 2011. Again some members feel that unions never addressed the casualties had to go through at work after strike,” he said.
He said the impact of a strike is normally felt if more members strike and on the issue of elections, government normally deploys senior officers.