Africa-Press – Botswana. The government has been roundly criticised by trade unions for the sudden decision of the Ministry of Health to withdraw emergency call and doctors’ commuted overtime allowances and the ministry’s ominous stance that the behaviour of the Botswana Doctors Union is “inconsistent with the provisions governing essential services”.
Several unions have excoriated the government for its “unlawful and unjustified” withdrawal of emergency call allowances for doctors because the decision jeopardises the prognosis and safety of patients.
Ahead of the rest is the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) that has issued a stern warning to the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General Pius Mokgware (rtd), after the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) abrupt decision.
The union federation has described the decision as a unilateral alteration of conditions of service that jeopardises both healthcare workers and patients’ safety.
Labour-based solution
In a letter addressed to Mokgware’s ministry, BOFEPUSU’s highlighted its proactive involvement in addressing the dispute over the payment of emergency call allowances.
Signed by the Secretary General of BOFEPUSU, Robert Ronny Rabasimane, the letter revealed that it facilitated a meeting on 1st May 2025 in Ghanzi aimed at resolving the matter amicably.
It noted that following this engagement, both parties agreed to withdraw the issue from the courts in order to enable a labour-based resolution.
However, the letter stated, BOFEPUSU was shocked at MoH’s recent decision to immediately halt the Emergency Call and Doctors’ Commuted Overtime Allowances on the basis of the principle of “no work, no pay” as justification.
Unilateral
The union federation emphasised that while it remains committed to resolving the dispute through arbitration, MoH’s unilateral move to alter doctors’ conditions of service constitutes an alarming departure from established collective bargaining processes.
“The federation warns that this approach is risky and may lead to undesirable outcomes, further complicating the arbitration process,” BOFEPUSU stated.
“This decision undermines the rights and entitlements of our members as these allowances are part of a collective labour agreement that cannot be arbitrarily changed at the whim of ministry officials.”
Patients’ safety
Significantly, BOFEPUSU warned that such actions could compromise patients’ safety, given the critical nature of emergency call duties performed by medical professionals.
The union urged MoH to adopt a more collaborative and fair approach, saying any modifications to allowances or conditions of service should be based on principles of equity and negotiated transparently.
The federation called on Minister Mokgware to advise the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health to cease adopting adversarial attitudes towards healthcare workers.
Essential services
Meanwhile, in a joint letter addressed to Botswana Doctors Union recently, the Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) stated that they “have, regrettably, resolved to implement the ‘no work, no pay’ principle. “This will entail the immediate halting of Emergency Call and Doctors Commuted Overtime,” the letter stated.
It proceeded to accuse the doctors of issuing a directive to their “members to undertake only one call per month and to disregard established On-Call rosters”. In an ominous tone, the letter added: “We wish to underscore that such a directive may constitute actions inconsistent with the provisions governing essential services.”
The Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) has also weighed in on the matter by calling on “the Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Health) to reconsider her decision regarding the commuted overtime and emergency call allowances and engage in constructive efforts that will restore the integrity and dignity of the public health system”.
“Unlawful and unjustified”
In a statement signed by its deputy president, Nzhi Moalosi, BOPEU called on the government to reign in the Permanent Secretary of
Ministry of Health in, saying her latest decision has the potential “to jeopardise harmonious industrial relations,”.
For its parts, the Botswana Nurses Union described MoH’s controversial decision as “unlawful and unjustified”. It stated: “While no basic salary can be lawfully cut under Botswana’s labour laws, allowances that are officially agreed upon, such as Emergency Call and Commuted Overtime, form part of the contractual compensation package and cannot be withdrawn unilaterally.”
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