- Restoration of the Bargaining Council has been mooted since 2018
- Saleshando recently called it a major omission in President Boko’s SONA
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Public Service Bargaining Council is pencilled to take effect before the end of February next year, the Minister of State, Moeti Mohwasa, has said.
He was addressing journalists in a press conference at Cresta Lodge in Gaborone on Monday this week.
The minister said the government has engaged the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) to finalise details that will see the return of a structure that is designed for the welfare of public officers.
To reduce red tape
“We have engaged the Directorate of Public Service Management and agreed that by the end of February (2025), the Bargaining Council will be in effect,” he said. “We are also going to amend the Public Service Act and reduce the unnecessary red tape we see in offices.”
The government’s decision to accelerate restoration of the Bargaining Council comes against the backdrop of criticism from unions and the Leader of the Opposition, Dumelang Saleshando, who recently said it was a major issue that was missing from President Duma Boko’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week.
Saleshando used his official response to SONA to call for the immediate return of the Bargaining Council.
Human rights approach
Prior to the SONA, the Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) released a statement saying it expected the government to uphold its human rights approach by addressing the plight of public officers.
It listed lack of accommodation, low salaries and stagnation in terms of promotion among pressing challenges faced by public officers.
“Under the previous administration, the collapse of this PSBC hindered the resolution of critical issues related to workers’ welfare,” the BOFEPUSU statement said.
Vital platform for negotiation
“We expect the new government to prioritise the restoration of this council as a vital platform for negotiation, aiming for an efficient, transparent and fair resolution process that advances the rights of public service employees and fosters a motivated workforce.
“In our view, the absence of the PSBC is a serious indictment on the welfare of public service employees as their conditions of service are negotiated at makeshift forums whereas the Public Service Act has legalised the exercise of bargaining rights within the public service”
Restoration of the Bargaining Council has been mooted since 2018 but to no avail. In 2021, BOFEPUSU threatened to take legal action against the government for failing to live up to its promise of reviving the council.