Africa-Press – Botswana. Labour Day should be regarded as a day to honour the contributions made by workers towards the growth of the economy.
Speaking during Worker’s Day commemoration in Masunga on Monday, principal consultant at I-Six Logistics, Mr Pangaman Kaisara said workers were faced with challenges such as poor working conditions and low salaries, which hindered them from affording the standard of living.
He also reminded employers that should an employee work beyond the agreed eight hours per day, they must be paid overtime in the form of money and not forced to take days off.
“It is not a procedure for management to decide for an officer to take day offs in lieu of overtime pay,” he said, adding that employees had the right to demand extra wages for every hour they worked after the eight-hour count.
Mr Kaisara said employers must ensure that employees were not discriminated against on the basis of race, class, gender and disability.
On other issues, Mr Kaisara said workers of today were aware of their rights, hence the need for the employer to open room for negotiations.
Manual Workers Union National Executive Committee Member, Mr Bosele Madome said more often than not, low wages affected productivity.
“If there is no money in employee’s pockets, productivity is bound to be affected,” he said, emphasising that it was important for employees to be happy beyond the work environment for better results at work.
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