In Mochudi, a handful of workers gathered at Linchwe II Secondary School to commemorate the date, whereupon the councillor for Bogare Joseph Setoutwe complained that workers are no longer taking this day seriously. "This is an opportunity for you to raise your grievances" he said.The theme for this year's celebrations is "protecting workers rights and unleashing a progressive labour agenda in national politics".
According to the message presented country-wide on May Day, workers around the country gathered not only to celebrate their might, but to commemorate the bravery of the fallen heroes and heroines, but also to determine their destiny and perfect progressive moves as they take the workers struggle.The union cries that President Ian Khama continues to undermine the legally established Bargaining Council and Consultative structures by pronouncements made at Kgotla meetings with respect to issues that should be dealt with between the employer and employees and that he made unilateral announcements on the issue of public servants engaging in businesses, "a domain which squarely falls within the conditions of service and purely of bargaining and consultative nature". Therefore BOFEPUSU says it is evident from the conduct and attitude of the employer towards negotiations of salary increments and improvement of other conditions of service that the government of Botswana as the employer, is yet to come to terms with the fact that, "now that the legislation provides for equality and parity between unions as representatives of the workers and the employer at a negotiation table", adding that it is clear that government is still stuck in the olden dispensation of unilateralism in making decisions that concern the employees' conditions of service".
