Africa-Press – Botswana. The Botswana Congress Party and the Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union have rounded on President Duma Boko for suggesting that there may be no salary increment awarded to public servants this year just as salary negotiations were about to get underway
Salary negotiations for the 2025/26 financial year between the government and public sector unions got off to a rocky start on Monday this week after President Duma Boko reportedly suggested there may be no salary adjustments for civil servants.
The President’s recent remarks, made during an official engagement in Tsabong, are said to have angered labour unions, with the Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) accusing Boko and his administration of double standards.
Political backlash also came swiftly with the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) lambasting Boko for what it described as a premature and unhelpful utterances.
Common ground
President Boko informed his audience that negotiations should aim for a win-win outcome. He emphasised that negotiating parties must seek common ground if progress should be made and likened adopting fixed positions to seeking to draw blood from a stone.
Reacting to Boko’s remarks, BOSETU stated: “While we acknowledge the uncertainty of the country at the moment, we remain steadfast that these negotiations must yield significant salary increases for workers.
“The adage that one cannot draw blood from a stone remains fully appreciated. However, it cannot always suffice when it is convenient for government and forgotten when it comes to the plight of working class.
Lavish lifestyles
“Let it refresh in our minds that there is a proposed 1.5 percent tax hike despite the deeply eroded purchasing power of the workers. The principle of undressing a naked man does not seem to gain prominence when it comes to the lavish lifestyles of government officials.”
Once again, BOSETU criticised the government for increasing the number of Specially-Nominated Councillors and raising the furniture allowances of ministers when the nation has fallen on hard times.
“While we encourage our negotiators to be vigilant and considerate in order to safeguard the ailing economy, we still insist that the negotiators should come out of the negotiations with some increment,” BOSETU asserted.
Premature
“There is need to be open-minded to convince the employer not to apply double standards in the application of the principle of drawing blood from a stone. The posture of the government does not display the severity of a struggling economy to warrant no increment for the workers.
“Let it be clear that it should not only be the workers who should bear the cost of the mismanagement of the economy by the past BDP government.”
For its part, the BCP described Boko’s comments that civil service salaries may not be increased as premature, ill-advised, and against the spirit of fair and transparent negotiations.
Collective bargaining
“These remarks are a direct assault on the principles of collective bargaining and are contrary to the democratic values enshrined in Botswana’s Constitution,” said Botswana’s official opposition in a statement.
“They risk prejudicing the negotiation process and further eroding trust between the government and public sector employees who constitute the backbone of our nation’s service delivery.
“We call on President Boko to retract these pre-emptive and inflammatory remarks and commit to a negotiation process that is transparent, respectful, and inclusive.
“Public sector workers deserve fair wages that reflect the rising cost of living, improved working conditions, and a government that genuinely values their contributions; not one that intimidates or dismisses them.”
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