Botswana to appear before ILO committee
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Tuesday May 9, 2017 15:56
The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) has listed Botswana among other 40 member states of the ILO, who are earmarked to appear before the committee in June 2017 for violation of Convention 87 of the ILO.
This after Parliament enacted the new Trade Dispute Act (TDA) that essentially took away the striking right of the workers.
It makes a large portion of public workers among them diamond sorting and cutting, teachers, immigration and customs services classified as essential workers.
Botswana made it into the top 40, which is a preliminary list that will be trimmed down to 25 by CAS.
A statement from the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) states that the organisation reported Botswana to the Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) in September 2016. “Our report was considered by the CEACR in November 2016 and is captured by the 2016 CEARC Report.
In March 2017 BFTU was among the African Trade Unions who gathered in Grand Bassam, Cote d’Voire to discuss the short listing of African countries to appear before CAS during the 2017 ILC.
“We successfully managed to have Botswana listed among the top countries in Africa.
It is this ranking that has influenced the social partners in the ILO supervisory system to agree to have Botswana listed among the top 40 rogue states,” read the statement authored by BFTU’s secretary general, Gadzani Mhotsha. Only the last 25 countries will have to appear before the CAS.
Mhotsha said in the statement that they believe they have a very strong case against the government and are positive that Botswana will make the last 25.
He said that the new TDA has banned workers from taking part in strike action in furtherance of their collective bargaining efforts, thus taking way a fundamental right.
“The BFTU will continue to represent workers even at ILO level to ensure that the Botswana Government rescinds this draconian law.” Convention 87, which Botswana has contravened is on the fundamental rights of workers on the freedom to associate and the right to organise.
This includes their right to organise their administration and activities. Government and trade unions have been on a warpath since the historical mass industrial action in 2011, which lasted for months.