Gobotswang preaches peace on Labour Day
Bonte Seepi | Thursday May 4, 2017 16:13
Addressing Labour Day celebrations here on Monday, Gobotswang said there was no need for Unions to fight amongst themselves instead of fighting against the employer. His remarks were in reference to a vicious battle playing out across various platforms between the Botswana Federation of Public, Private, and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) and associated actors.
Gobotswang said the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)-led government relies on divisions within trade unions and opposition parties. He said in the coming general elections, opposition parties need the votes of all public servants and as such, unions must unite and change the Government to one that will respect their rights.
“It doesn’t help for unionists to fight amongst themselves instead of fighting the enemy, which is the employer. I am surprised because BOFEPUSU is the one, which always urged us to unite with Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) to stand as one opposition party so as to defeat BDP.
“We did exactly that and now we are one party heading towards 2019 elections with one goal, one symbol and one leader,” Gobotswang said.
Gobotswang said there was a special relationship between the UDC and BOFEPUSU and as the BCP was now part of the formation, it would also fight to protect the friendship.
“BCP has given up and we are now part of UDC. We are going to the 2019 elections as one party, one symbol, one leader and one goal. We are done and moving forward, no more turning back,” he said.
The Director of Directorate of Public Service Management, Ruth Maphorisa also encouraged unity amongst unions saying speaking with one voice was more helpful than a discordant approach.
“You as trade unions ought to unite because a house divided cannot stand,” she said. BOFEPUSU labour secretary, Johnson Motshwarakgole said while unionists were attempting to unite, there were doubts about which way some of them were pulling.
“There are some unionists who are still not sure about what they want.
We are trying to cross the red zone and we can’t do that with people who are still not sure about what they want. We are not yet in the same boat, hence we can’t risk working with those who clearly show us that they are not part of us,” he said.