BOFEPUSU says organised labour helped shape key UDC manifesto commitments and insists its criticism of government is about holding the administration to promises made to workers.
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) has rejected suggestions that its increasingly vocal criticism of government amounts to an anti-government posture, arguing that organised labour helped shape some of the commitments on which the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) was elected.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, BOFEPUSU Secretary General Robert Rabasimane said unions engaged political parties ahead of the 2024 general elections and scrutinised their manifestos to determine whether workers’ interests, particularly those of public servants, were adequately addressed.
He said organised labour subsequently engaged the UDC and pushed for improvements to its labour agenda, meaning unions cannot reasonably be characterised as enemies of an administration whose policy platform they helped influence.
MANIFESTO CHANGES
“We instructed them to amend their manifestos because the civil workforce’s interests were not well catered for extensively. Our second meeting with the UDC centered on improved labour relations,” Rabasimane said.
The UDC previously acknowledged that trade unions were among groups consulted in developing its 2024 manifesto, alongside civil society organisations and other stakeholders. Its manifesto included labour-related commitments such as the P4,000 living wage, which President Duma Boko has continued to associate with the government’s agenda.
SHARED AGENDA
“We believed that their pledges aligned with addressing the plight of the civil workforce. They mentioned the P4000 minimum wage. They promised improved labour relations,” he said.
His remarks come against strained relations between organised labour and the administration, with BOFEPUSU repeatedly challenging government decisions affecting public servants and accusing authorities of inadequate consultation on some reforms.
BROKEN PROMISES
“What drives a wedge between us is unfulfilled promises. If you ask pertinent questions you are labelled as the government’s adversary,” he said.
Despite the friction, BOFEPUSU says its door remains open for dialogue.
“We are fully behind the government,” Rabasimane said, adding: “We are open to engaging the government. If the govt wants to engage us, be it at a federation level or individual affiliate level, we will inform our affiliates to meet up with the government to come up with ways to improve labour relations and the nation at large.”