This time around, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) has unilaterally taken a decision to stop overtime allowance pay to teachers without consulting them. The Permanent Secretary in the MoESD, Grace Muzila recently told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that her ministry is in talks with the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) to have teachers revert to the initial 10-hour schedule as overtime payment rockets.Muzila revealed that the ministry paid P17 million in overtime between November 2012 and April this year.
According to Muzila, most of the extra hours that teachers work go to remedial lessons and sporting activities. In response, one of the teachers unions has threatened that if the ministry goes ahead to stop overtime, then it would mean activities that are done after hours like course work, remedial and enrichment activities, sporting activities, subject fairs will cease. The union's contention is that this will really be catastrophic to education in Botswana. It reasoned that stopping overtime pay will undermine the principles of bargaining and consultation.A few weeks ago, Justice Moroka nullified a decision of then Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) head, Festinah Bakwena to terminate organisational rights that unions had enjoyed until August 2011 when her controversial decision was to take effect. In declaring Bakwena's decision null and void, Justice Moroka said the termination without giving the unions a hearing had rendered the action unfair and unlawful. He said it was high time government and trade unions fully appreciated their collective duty to ensure a stable and productive public service.
