BOFEPUSU Set Date For Salary Negotiations
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday September 26, 2016 16:03
The BOFEPUSU AJA has also proposed that the Ordinary Council meeting of PSBC be on October 10, 2016, as well as proposing that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the PSBC be on the October 13, 2016 .
Following the end of tenure of the PSBC chairperson Tsetsele Fantan in August this year, the two vice presidents of the PSBC are empowered by the constitution to trigger the PSBC sessions, and Molaodi has not wasted any time and has proposed to his counterpart to get the PSBC business started.
The Joint Mandate Council of BOFEPUSU met on Thursday last week, two days after their PSBC status was confirmed by the PSBC Secretary General, Willard Ulaula, and agreed that the negotiations commence on October 3,, 2016. They have since written to the PSBC Secretary General and the DPSM for the convening of a meeting for salary negotiations
The Court of Appeal Judgement of June 17, 2016 ordered that as soon as the PSBC had confirmed BOFEPUSU still met the threshold to continue being a member of the PSBC, salary talks should continue.
Last week Tuesday Ulaula confirmed that BOFEPUSU AJA still met the threshold to continue being a member of the PSBC.
The Monitor understands that BOFEPUSU intends to submit proposals for salary negotiations and conditions of service for both the 2016-17 financial year, which were interupted by protracted court cases involving BOFEPUSU and BOPEU, as well as presenting their salary negotiations and conditions of service position for the coming 2017-2018 financial year before the end of September this year.
BOFEPUSU deputy Secretary General Kethalefile Motshegwa yesterday confirmed to The Monitor that their proposal for 2017-18 was awaiting the final touches before submission.
Motshegwa however, was looking forward to the continuation of the salary talks telling The Monitor that they submitted their proposal in November 2015 and rule of engagement were signed in February 2016. “What was left was the counter-proposal by the employer. Now that there is no question about the composition and functionality of the Bargaining Council, the employer is to submit a counter-proposal before 3rd October 2016 for salary negotiations to continue,” said Motshegwa confidently.
“It is important for conclusion of salary negotiations to be expedited since they have been pending for a long time. This is at a time when conditions of service of workers and their state of living are worsening as their purchasing power has been eroded.
Workers have been burdened with cumulative inflation and are suffering from the jaws of poverty due to rising cost of living”.
“We confirm that BOFEPUSU is determined to always protect the functionality, power and relevance of the Public Service Bargaining Council. Workers’ right to collective bargaining must be protected and nurtured.
“The economic gains of the country must also benefit workers rather than workers pushed to the periphery when it comes to economic distribution. Workers are citizens too and they too must benefit from the economy, more so that they are the creators of wealth of this country”.