BOPEU harvests frustrated BOFEPUSU members � Marenga
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday May 12, 2017 12:25
At the centre of the alleged exodus, BOPEU general secretary Topias Marenga told Mmegi this week: “it’s the frustration of BOFEPUSU members over stalled salary increment which has been forcing some of them to join our ranks”.
Not only have the salary talks broken down irretrievably, BOFEPUSU affiliates have not enjoyed salary increments for two consecutive financial years whilst the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC) could not produce the desired results.
The collapsed talks have even forced BOFEPUSU to recently announce withdrawal from the PSBC membership.
Marenga is steadfast that from last year, they have been registering former BOFEPUSU members frustrated by no salary increments.
He was however, worried that upon potential members tendering their letters of resignation, BOFEPUSU leadership tended to play delaying tactics.
“Those wanting to exit BOFEPUSU were subjected to a clause that forced them to remain members for about three months and thereby denying them the right to belong,” Marenga said.
Asked to state the exact numbers of those who may have left BOFEPUSU to join the federation’s break away union, BOPEU, Marenga who was in Maun this week could not say the exact figure off the cuff.
“We have a record of a good number of members from the four trade Unions making up BOFEPUSU, who have joined us,” Marenga told Mmegi in a telephone interview.
Botswana Sectors of Teachers Union (BOSETU), Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Botswana Land Boards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) and National Amalgamated Central, Local and Parastatal Manual Workers Union (NALCGPWU) are trade unions affiliated to BOFEPUSU.
Members of BOPEU enjoyed the salary increment denied BOFEPUSU members from the last financial year and even the current financial year, circumstances, which compelled the latter federation to withdraw from the PSBC.
One of the things that affected BOFEPUSU members is that when the Government increased the salaries of other public servants outside the PSBC, the monthly union subscriptions of all Union members were systematically increased by 3% leaving the salaries unnecessarily overburdened.
Responding to the BOPEU reports, BOFEPUSU and BOSETU secretary general, Tobokani Rari said: “By the way, we are four trade Unions in BOFEPUSU, but I can assure you that there is no massive turnover at BOFEPUSU going to BOPEU”.
Rari was quick to qualify that however, there were some members of BOSETU that previously wanted out of the Union just out of frustration of the stalled salary talks.
“They wanted out because of their long wait for salary increment as BOFEPUSU tussled with the Government on the table at the PSBC. From Gaborone Senior Secondary School (GSSS) we had five teachers who had wanted out of BOSETU because of their frustrations related to the salary increment issue,” Rari said.
He also explained that the contention of the GSSS teachers was that amongst other things they wanted BOFEPUSU to leave the PSBC so that they can also enjoy the salary increments accorded others.
Rari explained that the decision for BOFEPUSU to leave the PSBC membership was a ‘proactive’ decision by the federation leadership fearing that with the attitude of the Government by making life difficult for the federation they could not sustain the waiting anymore.
“It’s obvious that if we were going to fail to sustain the patience of the members it was going to have backlash upon us as the leadership and perhaps, lose some of the members,” conceded the trade unionist.
He was also quick to show that last year October, BOFEPUSU was given the mandate to fight for effective bargaining council. The members had mandated the federation to negotiate a better salary increment but in recognition of the current dynamics, the leadership took a decision to pull out of the PSBC.
“We would later meet with the delegates at a special congress in Palapye recently whereupon briefing our members, the conclusion was that we have taken the right decision to pull out of the PSBC.”
Dismissing BOPEU’s allegations that it was haemorrhaging its former partner, militant BOFEPUSU deputy secretary general, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa laughed off the allegations indicating: “BOPEU is simply clutching at straws as they have no integrity to even attract members from BOFEPUSU to their fold”.
He noted that BOPEU lost direction recently when they challenged a High Court judgement by Justice Tshepo Motswagole, which “protected the rights of the workers and the interests of the PSBC.”
BOPEU would later succeed in overturning, albeit temporarily, the Justice Motswagole judgement at the Court of Appeal (CoA).
The Justice Motswagole judgement was stayed until the CoA makes a determination on the BOPEU application next October as ruled by Justice Monametsi Gaongalelwe of the CoA.
Motshegwa speaking on behalf of the four trade unions in BOFEPUSU dismissed the BOPEU claims on departing members as simply a figment of their own imaginations.
It’s however, apparent that beneath the accusations and counter-accusations lies bitter rivalry between the former trade Union partners.