Botswana National Manual Workers Union (NMWU) chairman Johnson Motshwarakgole told Mmegi that GCC retirement packages for the affected workers were based on service from 1991, contrary to a court decision. He said their investigations revealed that the council officers responsible for paying the retirement packages were at fault. He explained that after the manual workers went on strike in 1991, they were dismissed, but the union moved to court and successfully overturned the sackings. However, GCC proceeded to act and behave as if the workers were rehired in 1991 after the sackings.
Motshwarakgole asserted that the court decision means that the workers were never sacked and should have got retirement packages pre-dating 1991. "The judgement meant that manual workers should be paid their retirement package from years prior to the strike and after it," he said. Attempts to get a comment from GCC officials proved futile, as they were said to be in a performance management workshop in Mogoditshane for the past two weeks. This week some of them have been reportedly involved in a series of meetings at Grand Palm. They will only be free next week, explained a secretary in the office of the city clerk.
