Cellphone companies caught in workers' war

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Thursday September 22, 2011 00:00

 

Given that services that used to be provided by cellphones are also affected, the latter are likely to lose millions of Pula. 

Five trade unions have since made an application to the High Court seeking an interdiction to stop government from withdrawing some services it used to provide them with. The case is scheduled for October 4.

The five unions, Botswana Land-Board and Local Authorities Workers Union (BLLAWU), Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU), Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU), Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), and National Amalgamated Local and Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union are suing the Director of Public Service Management and the Attorney General.

According to the court papers, the unions had made an arrangement between their 100,000 plus membership and mobile phone companies for electronic deduction in settlement of loans.

In one instance, a union was generating P80,000 from the arrangement, which was 12 percent of the total amount the mobile service provider had made. The unions say that the deduction of payments from the source provided valuable security. Without the service, loan repayments will become cumbersome and costly.

The union leadership is stating in court papers that the unions will 'without the deduction code, be unable to collect from its members, payments due to mobile communication operators'.

The court papers also caution that government's withdrawal of services will affect the participation of teachers in SADC regional games that rotate between Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Namibia. The papers state that BOSETU operates a Savings Credit Cooperative Society where members save money and borrow against their savings. 

'As a result of the government's decision to stop Third Applicant making use of its deduction code, more than P1 million loans that are in the hands of members may become unrecoverable,' the papers say.

The court papers say that the unions have, for the benefit of its members, entered into an agreement with mobile communication operators, Orange (Botswana) Pty Ltd and be Mobile (Pty) Ltd to have payments directly deducted from their members' salaries using the loan deduction code, to enter into these agreements.

'Without the use of the loan deduction code, the applicants will lose their major sources of revenue and members will lose a lot of benefits that the applicants are able to offer them. It is improbable that the Third Applicant can continue effectively representing the interests of their membership without the sources of revenue,' the papers state. 

The court papers also state that one of the unions operates a loan scheme with its members and has let out an amount of P1.8  million, to meet the needs of its members.

'The viability of this scheme is dependent on the use of a loan deduction code. The shemes constitute a vital source of revenue and without the stream of revenue BTU may become insolvent. The loan deduction code is utilised to assist applicants' members' access P400,000 worth of airtime a month,' the unions say.

Government made a decision on August 25, 2011 to terminate all services it provided to trade unions among them to discontinue allowing union subscriptions, to cease assisting with the deduction of loans, to cease provision of transport of employee representatives to congresses, annual congresses and governing councils.

The unions argue that the decision was unlawful, in that it is an organisational right, which can only be terminated through a process of collective bargaining.

They further argue that the applicants are faced with irreparable harm in that their loan schemes may collapse overnight. 'They may even become insolvent as a result of government's decision,' they say.