BNF, reflection on labour issues
Correspondent | Wednesday March 29, 2017 14:54
It is important to note that a healthy industrial relation, especially in the public service is a paramount factor in motivating or demoralising workers who are key drivers of the economy and Government interventions strategies (if any) and their implementation. It therefore follows that Government has to have a Director of Public Service Management (DPSM) who can strike a balance, ensuring parity between workers’ interests on one hand, and the Employer’s (who happens to be the biggest employer) interests on the other hand.
A cursory look at the number of cases referred to Courts of Laws for adjudication doesn’t augur well for the current administration despite the dented confidence owing to a skewed balance of power by the Executive over the Judiciary. Out of 10 cases referred to Courts of laws, it is safe to say Unions won nine and only one went in favour of the Administration. This by any standard should have worried the establishment and a sober administration would reflect and change strategies with a view to bridging the gap to counter disillusionment brought about by a heavily arrogant and totalitarian administration. Just to buttress this point, in 1997 Government as a member of International Labour Organisation (ILO), ratified Convention 98 – Right of Association and Collective Bargaining.
PSBC)/ BOFEPPPUSU
One of the basic tenets in a democracy is dialogue, it was therefore improper to see Government reneging on a benevolent instrument established to safeguard and entrench a right to bargain and proceed without shame to award a unilateral three percent to the public service without engaging Unions, as entrenched by ILO Convention 98 and further by Public Sector Bargaining Council (PSBC). This was contempt. Tribute should be paid to BOFEPPPUSU for standing their ground and defending a principle which is a cornerstone of Trade Unionism: the right to representation at the bargaining forum. We encourage BOFEPPPUSU affiliates and their members to continue to rally behind the Federation in defence of this cardinal principle and furtherance of the Workers’ Agenda. Any suggestion that is in variance with this, will serve nobody but the administration by sowing seeds of discord and throwing the good name of the Federation into disrepute. Any calls by few dissenting voices threatening resignation if the Federation doesn’t accept the three percent, is misdirected and misinformed. We, at the BNF applaud the resolution adopted at the recent BOFEPPPUSU Special Congress to “resort to mass demonstrations as of the beginning of 2017 to make the public and all stakeholders aware of Government’s infringements on workers’ rights” as the right approach to rogue administration that does not uphold the rule of law. We further recognise the Federation for championing and advocating for socio-economic and political issues and refusing a thinly-veiled attempt to muzzle it to restraining itself to labour matters. Political issues are too big, embracing and complex to be left to politicians alone who have vested interests on governance and are therefore conflicted.
Manual Workers Union
It will be a miscarriage of facts to address Labour issues without acknowledging far-reaching contributions from the oldest and single biggest Union. Who will forget the issue of “acting jointly” or as a unit in the marathon case pitting gov’t against BOFEPPPUSU over who qualifies to be in the PSBC. It was through Manual Workers Union as an affiliate member of BOFEPPPUSU that the Federation claimed back its place at PSBC. Besides, Manual Workers Union hosted a symposium on issues of human rights, governance, economy, corruption, and rule of law, employment opportunities and the role of oversight institutions in a democracy. The conference attracted high profile people in the fields of Politics, Law, Academics to Law enforcements. The lessons learned through that interaction, using Botswana as a model, and comparing it to regional and international best practices, was progressive and exemplary in the furtherance of our democracy.
The recent case challenging the validity of Section 4 of the Court of Appeal and its constitutionality demonstrated the level of maturity and advocacy on issues of national interest by Manual Workers and the BNF, through its Labour Sub-committee, congratulate this unparalleled activism and milestone achievement on matters of public interest. The BNF reiterates its long held view that the powers of the Executive cannot surpass that of the legislature, which is an embodiment of the people’s will and that of the Judiciary. The Executive has to be reminded that it acquires its legitimacy from the people and wisdom should guide to respect them to uphold the rule of law and respect Parliament, not to manipulate it by overt and clandestine means for self-aggrandisement gains to achieve absolute power.
BOSETU /BTU
The education sector Unions are doing a sterling job in so far as advocacy for better working conditions for the teachers and providing guidance as to what can be done to improve worsening schools results that have reached crisis proportions. We call on Government to embrace teachers and Unions as stakeholders in finding solutions for the education crisis. Victimisation of Union leaders will not help the situation, but will harden hearts and worsen relations much to the expense of the nation and our young people. The sector Unions continue to provide able leadership to champion workers’ rights under a very hostile environment.
The BNF categorically condemns the hastily rushed enlisting of teaching as an essential service with a view to curtail their rights to bargain as we all know that the last resort to collective bargaining is a strike, and it is a fundamental right for a worker to withdraw his labour if aggrieved and after following established procedure. It is only a paranoid Gov’t that can run to enlist as an essential service, an out of phase departure from the tried and tested norms of Therisanyo: one of the cardinal tenets of our nation.
We congratulate BOSETU for its recent victory in their latest case with employer regarding HODs and other cadres. We note the mixed reactions emanating from huge back pays that has accrued over time, with some pockets of our society questioning where the money would come from to pay the back pays. The BNF position, which is informed by its rationale in the recognition of social dialogue as the key element in Trade Unionism, is that social justice and the rule of law is the overarching principle in a democracy. As such, Government as a guardian to good governance (at least on paper) should demonstrate integrity in respecting established instruments to regulate industrial relations. By so saying, Government, in its daily decision-making and administrative duties, should tread carefully not tp be reckless and attract litigation, which may prove too steep to the taxpayers’ purse.
BLAHWU /Mining Workers
Those who have been long enough in the struggle of Labour Unions will know the battles that has been fought, some won, some lost by these two Unions. Mining Workers Union operates under a hostile environment of mines mainly manned by usually shrewd and racist management. But credit should go to this Union for standing their ground in the protection of workers’ rights.
The infamous BCL closure and its “cloak and dagger” selling to Dubai businessmen is a case in point of how dishonest Gov’t and its handlers can be. To start with, the BNF Labour Sub-committee has maintained that since BCL liquidation was a self-imposed provisional liquidation, Gov’t could have negotiated an exit and retrenchment package with the Unions before closure. Thus, we feel very strongly that employees of BCL were hard done by and betrayed by their own Gov’t and by so saying, Gov’t has blood on her hands in the manner they handled BCL closure.
BLAHWU hosted an enlightening workshop on human rights by close of the year and we are proud to say it was an exciting interaction of knowledge dissemination and empowerment as they say knowledge is power. We can only encourage other Unions to sponsor more of such symposiums to raise our workers’ consciousness and empowerment. All in all, we have observed growth in terms of workers’ consciousness due to Union activism, a cornerstone in the workers’ struggle to achieve Workers’ Agenda.
BFTU
Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU), in collaboration with ILO hosted a workshop in Mahalapye under the theme “Organising workers in vulnerable situations and precarious conditions”. It was an eventful and intensive workshop to come up with a strategy to come up with a strategy to organise workers in vulnerable situations like security companies, shops, vendors and so on.
As we might be aware, unorganised labour is a risk to Trade Unions as employers continue to exploit, victimise and abuse such workers. It was a good initiative for BFTU to extend its hand to disadvantaged groups of workers to come up with a strategy on how to organise such workers.
We recognise other Unions not mentioned here in the struggle for emancipation of workers for the betterment of conditions of service. We also note that it is disheartening for Government to be conspiring with employers to marginalise and victimise workers and Trade Unions because such employers sponsor the ruling party.
Viva Workers Power viva!
BNF Labour Sub-Committee