BFTU speaks on work safety, exams, politics

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Monday November 15, 2010 00:00

 

Addressing a press conference held at Babereki House in response to the Monday state of the nation address by Khama, BFTU secretary general, Gadzani Mhotsha, said the speech was silent on workplace accidents in the construction industry.

'We reiterate our call that labour inspection in this sector be strengthened and the expansion of its capacity generally. It is not enough to simply remind investors about our labour laws when no action is being taken against violations of labour rights. Government knows that the dispute system will not address the problem,' he said.

He also noted the President's views on trade unions and politics, which were also stated at BDP National Council on 22 May 2010.  He said the Office of the President (OP) takes a very narrow, economistic view of the role of trade unions in a democracy; that they should confine their comments and activities to the workplace.

'OP does not seem to have heard of social unionism. The labour movement cannot be confined into a kraal like cattle. In this sense BFTU does not however, support opportunism, populism and abuse of trade union rights which sometimes characterises our labour activism,' he said, adding that nevertheless this does not legitimise general anti-union sentiments or the contempt with which OP holds the union movement.

He stated that OP avoids commenting specifically on the unethical behaviour of particular union activists and organisations since some of them are linked to key ruling party structures and can be patronised and assimilated. He said despite a seemingly accommodative tone, it is clear that labour unions do not form a major constituency in government consultation.

'We find it double standards that the President does not find anything wrong with the interference by BDP national chairman and BDP labour committee in public service labour relations but prefers to caution trade unions about interference in politics. If trade unions ought to leave politics to politicians, then politicians ought to leave labour relations to trade unions,' Mhotsha said.

BFTU further noted that the address has avoided the failure of the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) to manage the implementation of the Public Service Act which was passed two years ago, resulting in a near strike situation and deepened politicisation of public service labour relations. 'Why was the President silent on the Public Service Bargaining Council? This is a pertinent question as we move towards the 2011 Budget Speech. Public Servants deserve to know why they still cannot bargain for their wages and conditions ten years after the ratification of the relevant ILO Conventions,' Mhotsha said.

On the examination crisis, Mhotsha revealed that the President failed to fully acknowledge the crisis in the National Schools Examinations. He said by taking the easy route out - denial - government failed to take responsibility and accountability of the problem and prefers to pass the blame on to the teacher boycott.

'The Examinations Council is not faulted for starting the process late and for ambiguity of its stand at the beginning of the year, which complicated the consultative process,' he stated. 

Mhotsha said as the last man, the President should have avoided the blame game and promoted dialogue rather than closing the door and issuing threats.

Had the President played a father-figure approach, he would have noted the complexity of the issue and also realising some root causes of the problem such as the historical neglect of teachers' welfare, the functional role of the Ministry of Education and Skills Development in examinations vis-a-vis the role of the Botswana Examination Council (BEC).

'However, we agree with the President that it is improper for teachers' unions to intimidate teachers who willingly and voluntarily accept BEC's pay and conditions,' he said, adding that unfortunately teachers' unions cannot apply picket rules without a lawful industrial action.

'So it is imperative that all sides realise the complexity of this issue and avoid populist approaches,' he said. 

Firstly, BFTU maintains that this impasse cannot be resolved without opening up dialogue, which should be speeded up to avoid a repeat of the same problem in next year's examinations. Teachers' unions should be advised to analyse the situation very carefully and to avoid becoming victims of the law. They should learn from the mistakes of previous generations of workers, he said.

Secondly, BFTU reiterates the impact on the victims (students), which would have class repercussions, as it is children from poor families whose future is being compromised.

Thirdly, 'in the long run we advise teachers to strategically consider finding ways to maintain and even grow the scope of their work and dependence of the employer on their skills while bargaining strongly for better pay and conditions. It is short-sighted to reduce the scope of duties as this will make future generations of teachers vulnerable to atypical forms of employment such as outsourcing'.

On the downscaling of the BIUST project, BFTU notes that the decision is the familiar story of our public projects, which indicate poor project planning. 'This has happened with the Serowe stadium and the electricity fence on the Zimbabwe border. BFTU will be watching with keen interest how the eventual downscaling decision will turn out,' he said.