Debswana dismissal- the aftermath (part 3)

Last week Sipho Showa discussed Botswana's labour environment. This week he extends the discussion by looking at the dismissal ofthe 461 Debswana employees and the immediate repercussions

Records indicate that 461 employees were dismissed for their involvement in the strike.  The company  reiterated its message that "those dismissed were a group of employees who by their own involvement in the illegal strike action breached not only their contract of employment but also collective agreements between the parties by endangering the safety/health of their fellow employees and the community or the security of the mines and the product...All other non-essential services employees who participated in the illegal strike action have had appropriate disciplinary action taken against them," stated a Debswana press release of 13 October 2004.

Debswana also moved swiftly to fill vacancies created by the 461 dismissals. In the press, the Company revealed that " in Orapa 5,371 applications have been processed to date...At Jwaneng Mine over 6, 500 applications received for the 126 jobs advertised are being processed and 91 people have been given offer letters".

Editor's Comment
Mob justice isn't just

A young man suspected of breaking into a car was seized by residents, severely assaulted, and died in the hospital within an hour. We unreservedly condemn this mob justice. It is not a solution to crime, but a criminal offence that turns citizens into murderers.Residents are understandably angry about theft. The person who raised the alarm at 4am acted lawfully, and the neighbours who rushed to help showed community spirit. But what followed was...

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