Africa-Press – Botswana. Trade unions say they have been left with no choice but to embark on industrial action, which may bring essential services in health, education and public administration to a halt.
Plans to mount a public service strike “in strong numbers” next Monday are advanced after the Directorate of Public Service Management’s (DPSM) mishandling of salary negotiations, the Five Plus One Cooperating Trade Unions have said.
The unions – which have been in protracted negotiations with DPSM – will also submit a petition to the Minister for State President, Moeti Mohwasa, calling for the immediate dismissal of DPSM Director, Gaone Macholo, whom they accuse of acting in bad faith.
According to the unions, Macholo’s approach to the negotiations has eroded mutual trust and worsened the deadlock between the government and public service employees.
Longstanding issues
Addressing a joint press conference in Gaborone this week, the Five Plus One said the strike is necessary to safeguard the rights of public servants and to compel the government to engage meaningfully over longstanding issues of pay and working conditions.
Veteran trade unionist Johnson Motshwarakgole made a collective call for the dismissal of the DPSM Director. “We want to urge Minister Mohwasa to relieve Macholo of her duties or to transfer her to a different department,” he said.
“She is the root cause of the breakdown in talks because she is instrumental in ensuring that executives earn a 15 % commuted overtime allowance while workers in lower scales have seen their overtime allowances frozen.”
Robust history
The Five Plus One collective, which brings together some of the country’s most influential unions, has a robust history of mobilising public servants around labour disputes.
Union leaders have warned that next week’s industrial action could have a devastating impact on essential services across health, education and public administration in the same way that previous public service strikes did.
Meanwhile, the government had not issued an official response to the unions’ planned action at the time of going to press.
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