Over 400 employees had taken the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM), DIS and Attorney General to court seeking salary back pays effective from April 2008. Their main contention was that the employer had failed to pay them salary pay backs despite the government having issued Directives and Savingrams to that effect. In a recent order by Justice Zein Kebonang of Gaborone High Court, he said the decision to not pay the officers backpays was unlawful. “The decision to not pay the officers back pays is unlawful in so far as the decision to pay is not back-dated to 2001 when Directive No.10 of 2001 came into force,” he said.
Justice Kebonang also ordered that the decision not to pay the officers back pays was contrary to Directive No. 6 of 2008 as read with the Savingram titled Implementation of the Court Of Appeal Judgment Pertaining to Directive and Savingrams on Multiple Tilting and Grading of C-Band Positions dated May 13, 2022. He stated that the decision not to pay officers was unlawful because they had legitimate expectation to receive back pays effective April 2008. “The decision not to pay the employees is contrary to the parity principle, thus unlawful,” Justice Kebonang said. Meanwhile, the lawsuit was based on the fact that about 406 employees last year issued a writ of summons against the DPSM, DIS and AG on grounds that the decision taken by the government not to pay salary back pays effective from April 2008 was unlawful.
