TAWU appeals against the bargaining council

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Thursday January 19, 2012 00:00

In a letter dated January 16, 2012 addressed to the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Lebonaamang Mokalake, the union called the setting aside of the establishment and registration of the council with immediate effect.

Moreover, the Attorney General's office, which the union and their lawyers Nyamambi Attorneys were instructed to deal directly with on the matter, was of no help, according to union president, Allan Keitseng. 

'We specifically request that you declare the establishment and registration of the public service bargaining council without consulting interested parties or giving them a hearing, specifically TAWU, was unfair and unlawful within 14 days of the receipt of this appeal,' Keitseng wrote.

He said the appeal was pursuant to section 51 (6) of the Public Service Act, 2008, which states that notice should have been given to all parties.

The Nyamambi Attorneys wrote to the Commissioner of Labour, Rose Sennanyana last August instructing her that establishment and registration of the council was unlawful as the matter was still pending before the Industrial Court.

They argued that there was no pronouncement made concerning the legality and validity of the bargaining council constitution to which their client was party. 'Our clients have never been invited and/or been party to the formation of a fresh constitution of the bargaining council,' they wrote.

However, the national organising secretary for the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), Johnson Motshwarakgole dismissed the claim as a sheer excuse. He said TAWU was never interested from the formative stages largely due the fact that they have a small membership and would not qualify for a seat in the council.

'They never showed interest and didn't attend meetings at which an agreement was made to establish the bargaining body,' Motshwarakgole said.

He explained that unions had to apply for a seat in the council and this was informed by the number of each union's membership which was later cross checked against government's requirements. He added that having a membership of less than 1,000 people would mean that some parties would not qualify for a seat.

He said despite the fact that the council was registered some time in November, it is not yet running as the chairperson is to be appointed.

'We have submitted names of candidates we feel can handle the council better and negotiate without taking sides but we are still awaiting government's nominees,' he said.

The council chair would be a neutral person who is not employed by government and not from any labour movement, he said.

While it is good to listen to the voices of the minority who felt left out, he said, as democracy dictates, TAWU should not use the issue of lack of consultation because they were never interested at the beginning.

The bargaining council would be an invaluable platform as it would take care of issues of salaries and conditions of work headed by someone else besides the director of the Directorate of Public Service Management who is a government employee and with hands tied at times, he concluded.