The coalition of the 5+1 trade unions has given the Minister of State President, Moeti Mohwasa, until September 30, 2025, to respond to their petition following the recent strike over unresolved labour grievances.
They comprise: BOPEU, BTU, BONU, BDU, NALCGPWU, and have been involved in back-and-forth salary negotiations with the government, but have never come to any fruition.
With the two parties involved in talks that have not yielded any results, the unions are at their wits' end and calling for heads to roll from the Office of the President (OP).
“We, the 5+1 public sector trade unions, submit this petition to formally raise several critical and pressing issues that are affecting the 2025/26 salary negotiations and ultimately the public service staff morale, productivity, and employee well-being,” Robert Rabasimane, chief negotiator of the 5+1 unions, said.
Rabasimane also said their negotiations have not yet been successful due to the mere fact that certain people in high offices are abusing their power, which results in the back-and-forth negotiations.
“We note with serious concern that the 2025/26 salary negotiations have stalled as a direct result of the poor leadership of the Director of the Directorate of Public Service Management, Gaone Macholo, and the lack of interest by the Permanent Secretary to the President, Emma Peloetletse,” he said.
The unions accuse Macholo of being a selfish being who does not care about the interests of the public service but only looks out for herself.
“The attitude portrayed by the DPSM and PSP is deeply troubling and symptomatic of a toxic industrial relations environment. In particular, the conduct of Macholo that we deem offensive, abrasive, and confrontational,” Rabasimane said.
He added, “This is as follows: she is bargaining in bad faith, poor handling of the 2025/26 salary negotiations under her leadership, and attempts by DPSM and PSP to divide and weaken trade unions through collusion and divide and tactic rules".
The trade unions further said it is sickening to the core that every time they engage with DPSM, their matters have to reach the courts first before they get resolved.
“Under the director of DPSM and PSP, they enjoy a noticeable shift toward litigation as the primary method of addressing disputes with trade unions. Rather than pursuing collaborative or alternative dispute resolution mechanisms,” Rabasimane said.
Rabasimane stressed that these common practices have not only strained labour relations but also undermined the spirit of mutual recognition and dialogue.
With that thought, the trade unions have several demands through their petition, one of them being that the two women in power should be ousted from their offices.
“We demand the immediate removal of PSP because she failed to provide strategy guidance, support, and coordination to the public service. PSP failed to take appropriate action against the director even where the misconduct is crystal clear,” he noted.
The unions further demand the immediate removal or redeployment of Macholo to a different ministry, as they allege that she has failed the public service.
“She has failed in the sense that she cannot give directions and guidance to the permanent secretaries, and labour relations under her watch have deteriorated,” he said.
With these demands, the unions have given the minister up to the Independence holidays to act on their demands; failure to do so, they will act.
