�Comply with ILO or resign�
Onalenna Kelebeile | Thursday December 7, 2017 14:09
Speaking during the union’s annual central executive committee gathering held here at he Majestic Five Hotel this week, Mogwera said the trade union movement is under siege and added that the enactment of draconian and repressive labour laws by Parliament continue to be a challenge and threat to the union movement and workers in general. She cited the Trade Dispute Act and the Public Service Bill as threats to workers’ rights and freedom.
“These pieces of legislation are anti-progress and undermine Botswana’s obligations under various ILO Conventions. So we urge government to comply with the ILO conventions or resign completely. BOPEU will continue to lobby for the repealing of all draconian labour legislations and to ensure that the country complies with the spirit of the ILO conventions without failure,” she said.
She observed that since the last central executive committee gathering, industrial relations in Botswana has significantly deteriorated owing to a number of factors such as the collapse of the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC).
“There is currently no structure or platform where trade unions can bargain on behalf of its members with the employer. This is a significant drawback for the entire labour movement in Botswana and we call for all stakeholders to swiftly normalise the situation by creating effective bargaining structures anchored on social dialogue, mutual respect and the advancement of workers welfare,” she said. The BOPEU president strongly warned union members to be vigilant of external forces and unscrupulous characters aimed at causing divisions and factions within the union. She said members must desist from being used by such external forces to be agents of divisions and factionalism. She added that instead members must become agents of unity and harmony and said the survival of any organisation depends on its unity and cohesion. She advised that the task of uniting the union must be a collective responsibility.
She further expressed concern with the use of social media by some members to breed factionalism and ill discipline. “BOPEU is facing one of its challenging times in its history particularly on its business wing. As a result the union has been in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons hence there is need for us to foster unity,” she said.
Mogwera said contrary to a belief that BOPEU is aligned to the ruling party, BOPEU has taken a firm decision in 2015 not to align with any political party.
She said this decision was informed by the fact that members of BOPEU come from different political backgrounds and are individually responsible for choosing their political affiliations.
“The union cannot trample upon the basic rights of association and assembly which all members of BOPEU enjoy individually. BOPEU members are also public servants and have a duty to serve all members of the public in a transparent manner.
In order to discharge this function, it is important that the union remains politically neutral because we cannot afford to compromise the public service and service delivery with partisan and parochial political interests,” she stressed.
Mogwera also noted that the decision to remain politically neutral has ensured that BOPEU stays united and intact and said they know the fate of trade unions and federations that took a populist decision to align themselves with political parties.
“We refused to engage in this suicide mission and we congratulate ourselves for this vigilance,” she added.