Judge orders ministry to comply

Oarabile Mosikare | Tuesday November 7, 2017 16:17

 

On September 22, 2014 and December 9, 2014, Letsididi ordered that each of the 22 industrial relations officers who had taken the Director of Public Service Management (DPSM) and the Ministry to court be assessed and considered for progression.

“Each of the union be assessed and considered for progression and be placed in the correct grade and be remunerated accordingly,” Letsididi ordered.

Letsididi dismissed their argument that they were eligible to be paid scarce skills allowance. To date, the government has been ignoring the court orders until the employees through the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) approached the court to force the employer to comply. Last month, Dube ordered that the respondents have not complied with the court orders issued in this matter by Letsididi on September 22, 2014 and December 9, 2014.

“The respondents are directed that they shall, within 60 days calendar days of the making of this court order comply fully and completely with the court orders issued in this matter by Justice Letsididi…” Dube ruled. The respondents were also directed that they shall within seven calendar days of their full compliance by providing full and detailed proof and evidence of their compliance to the applicant through the office of their lawyers.

The respondents shall pay the applicant’s cost of suit. In his affidavit, the former BOPEU president Andrew Motsamai said the condition for scarce skill allowance entitlement was not concerned with the ‘title’ or ‘designation’ of an officer, but rather with the functions or duties being performed by the officer.

“There was in fact a condition that the list of cadres in the Directive of Scarce Skills Occupations contained therein is not exhaustive as ministries were allowed to provide lists of individuals and their qualifications and duties who are performing the scarce skills occupations.

In terms of the savingram, each ministry or department was required to submit a list of all eligible officers to the Accountant General for the processing of the payment of the scarce skills allowance,” wrote Motsamai.

Motsamai also said the 22 employees performed the duties of mediation under the Trade Dispute Act (TDA).

He further said in this role, the applicants were appointed by the minister to a panel of mediators and arbitrators.

He argued that Section 3 (3) of the TDA required mediators and arbitrators appointed to the panel to have expertise in labour law or labour relations or other specialist areas.

“I wish to point out that the mediators serve a critical role in their labour dispute resolution system of Botswana.

The Industrial Court, a specialist court, will not assume jurisdiction in any matter, which has not been mediated upon.

The only exceptions are direct referrals by the Commissioner of Labour and the other common one is with matters that are regarded as urgent, where in any case the court has to be first satisfied as to the urgency of the matter failing which it will direct the matter for mediation.”