Minister Batshu is quoted as saying that the bill seeks to protect the economy by way of ensuring that all workers of Botswana are declared essential and therefore barred from taking part in strikes as a way to force employers to listen or accede to their demands for better working conditions. What the Minister is advocating for is a situation whereby workers in this country have been stripped of any rights to enable to them to improve their economic wellbeing and employers have been handed a license to exploit workers as they wish. This exploitation is led and perfected by the Government as the main employer in our economy. A Minister of Labour, whose other role is to regulate the labour market, is leading the assault on workers’ rights.
We are shocked by Minister Batshu’s position and new thinking because this is not what he portrayed all along when he engaged us (BFTU) and the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) on this matter. To the LAB Mr. Batshu has always appeared to be this understanding Minister who has the interest of workers at heart. He often vowed to ensure that conditions of employment, social protection, social dialogue and dispute resolution are his top priority. Mr. Batshu has led the Botswana delegation to the ILO a number of times where he made telling statements on how Botswana respects and protects the rights of workers. He has lobbied both employers and workers to support him as he endeavours to bring about change and improvement especially in the area of social dialogue.
