Africa-Press – Botswana. Despite the Botswana Mine Workers Union’s (BMWU) objection, the assistant Minister of Trade and Industry Beauty Manake has vowed to continue with her planned breakfast meeting with former BCL miners.
While the union condemns the planned meeting calling the former miners to boycott the planned breakfast meeting scheduled for today (Wednesday), Manake said the meeting will continues though postponed. Initially, the meeting was scheduled for this past Monday however, following the union’s objection, it was postponed. Last week Manake who is also the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Selibe-Phikwe West Parliamentary candidate invited former miners to a breakfast meeting. However, the BMWU condemned the planned meeting declaring it as a disingenuous political campaign.. The union further urged all former BCL employees to boycott the planned breakfast meeting amid failure by Manake to consult them.
Despite this, Manake told in an interview that she would not abandon her planned meeting due to the union’s objection. “The main contention of the union is that, I did not invite them nor consulted them before organizing the meeting. Therefore, I have since invited them as per their wish and the meeting will convene in Selibe-Phikwe on Wednesday. It is worth noting that I am not fighting the union, but rather trying to lend a helping hand to the miners. Besides that, I have the support of the former employees because a large number has shown interest and they said I should not meet the union’s leadership separately as the latter suggested when the condemning the planned the meeting,” revealed Manake adding that so far, 197 have shown interest in attending.
In one of the WhatsApp messages this publication received from Manake, purportedly from the former miners, the latter distance themselves from the union. Further, in the messages, former miners expressed discontent accusing the union of holding them at ransom.
In the BMWU press release that condemned the meeting, the union questions the timing. The union stated that while in the five years period they employed different ways to engage the ruling party including Manake their efforts were fruitless. “We doubt that there will be anything different that would be said at the breakfast meeting and most disappointing is the lack of consultation with the Union, when there are pending and/or out-standing responses which the Botswana Government is yet to give the Union. This shows the ruling party’s disregard and indifference for organized workers structures in Botswana. We therefore object to and condemn the convening of this planned breakfast meeting. We call on all former BCL workers to boycott the planned breakfast meeting in Selebi Phikwe in the absence of any consultation with the Union,” reads part of the union’s press release.
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