BOFEPUSU�s ramps up anti-govt campaign
Dolly Bathobakae | Tuesday January 31, 2017 16:16
Motshegwa was speaking at the union rally held in Tonota on Friday meant to sensitise BOFEPUSU members about resolutions taken at the special congress last year.
“There will be some casualties during the fight for our own liberation. It happened in 2011 during the civil servants strike, but let us not despair. History will judge us harshly if we abandon the struggle to liberate workers from the current government which is acting ruthlessly against the workers,” Motshegwa said.
Meanwhile, the Botswana Manual Workers Union’s union organiser, Motseothata Gopane urged the government to “repent and smoke a peace pipe” with trade unions if the BDP “harbours ambitions of staying in power beyond the 2019 general elections”. Gopane was speaking on behalf of BOFEPUSU secretary for education, Simon Molaodi who missed the meeting due to other commitments.
“We are more than willing to sit down with the ruling party to resolve our differences, but that should not be beyond 2017. In 2018 we will not listen. They (BDP) are the ones who are under pressure to engage us,” Gopane said.
The BDP’s poor performance at the 2014 general elections was attributed to BOFEPUSU decampaigning. The union vigorously backed the UDC at the polls.
The BDP also recently lost the Tsabong and Boikago-Madiba wards by-elections and the losses were partly attributed to the roles played by BOFEPUSU and the Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU). BOFEPUSU recently announced that it is launching a campaign to root the BDP out of power on account of its attitude towards workers. Gopane also noted that the federation recently wrote a letter to the African Union (AU) urging the organisation’s 54-member states against voting Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi. BOFEPUSU has maintained that it is not backing Venson-Moitoi’s candidacy at the AU election. “We recently wrote a strong letter to the AU cautioning its member states to vote Venson-Moitoi at their own risk. We are not backing Venson-Moitoi on account of Botswana’s poor relationship with the workers.
“We also believe that by voting a candidate from Botswana, AU member states will be sending a message that they condone poor labour practices,” Gopane said.
In their document de-campaigning Venson-Moitoi, BOFEPUSU has indicated that it has documented all of Botswana’s actions deemed to be against standard labour practices since President Ian Khama took over.
BOFEPUSU has also indicated that it will make a presentation on Botswana’s poor labour practices at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) general assembly mid-this year.
Last year the Botswana delegation played an observer role at the assembly, but this year the union is expected to be granted a delegate status meaning that it can make presentations.