BOFEPUSU To Know Their Bargaining Council Position Today
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday September 12, 2016 16:16
After a protracted battle with rival Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU), the Court of Appeal ruled that both parties should apply for admittance afresh, which Manual Workers and partners did in earnest.
For Johnson Motshwarakgole’s Manual Workers Union, the main applicants for the PSBC seat in the BOFEPUSU acting jointly agreement, it has been over two months of waiting now since they submitted the numbers to the PSBC secretariat for verifications.
In fact the BOFEPUSU submitted their membership figures as soon as the Court of Appeal had made ruling on the matter, only to be frustrated by the PSBC secretariat, who returned the envelopes to sender, asking the federation to wait a while the PSBC was still putting their house in order. On Friday, The Monitor learnt that the PSBC secretariat met with their external auditors for the vetting exercise, who were handing over the outcome of their vetting and verification process, paving the way for the PSBC to announce the outcome of that process to the BOFEPUSU party today or early this week. BOFEPUSU have never hidden their frustrations with the PSBC secretariat over the issue and have used various public forums to express their displeasure. Unlike in the past, The Monitor learns that this time, the PSBC secretariat, after receiving the BOFEPUSU AJA submissions, decided to engage the services of an external auditor, resulting in the delays. While The Monitor gathers that the process of vetting and verification was so thorough and strict that even Manual Workers may be adversely affected, those in the BOFEPUSU feel even with strict process, Motshwarakgole’s union should still make the numbers needed to re-enter the PSBC. Should Manual Workers and company receive the positive news they had been waiting for, experts say this will have landed a killer blow to rivals BOPEU, who have decided not to submit their numbers this time, saying that they needed time to audit their membership figures. Infact any positive news for BOFEPUSU today would give them advantage over their rivals, as it will have the liberty to fine-tune the PSBC, including the constitution, to their liking. BOFEPUSU have always stated that as soon as the verification process is completed and they are allowed back into the PSBC, as they expect, then salary negotiations for this financial year that were delayed by long dragging cases involving the BOFEPUSU and BOPEU would resume. BOFEPUSU rejected the government’s unilateral three percent salary increase, resulting in a situation whereby BOFEPUSU members are currently not benefiting from the increment. On Friday, the PSBC secretary general Willard Patla Ulaula said he could not entertain media enquiries immediately as he had external visitors whom they have been expecting to address an urgent matter.