07 Dec 2015

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) does not seek to co-opt trade unions into its fold, says its secretary general, Mr Botsalo Ntuane.

Giving a solidarity statement during the third Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) congress in Palapye, Mr Ntuane said the BDP does not want to steal BOPEU and has never domesticated any labour formation.

He said the BDP subscribes to the school of thought that unions must be strong, accountable, vibrant and independent from party politics.

“We think unions that affiliate to political parties are vulnerable to suffering the unintended consequence of splits and divisions over party politics,” he said.

Mr Ntuane further said in other instances unions that were active in the trenches of party politics end up little more than a labour desk and in the process the plight of the worker plays second fiddle to the  political party.

He said the BDP thinks it prudent for unions to embrace non-partisanship and allow members to exercise individual political choice.

“If a politically affiliated union on the eve of say a general election has its members parading in the colours of a certain party, can competing parties trust those individuals the following day to conduct an impartial election as IEC presiding or returning officers?”

In addition, he said the BDP takes recognition of BOPEU and its role in the delivery of the national development agenda upon which the BDP has been elected to govern the country.

He said the BDP as the governing party relies on members of BOPEU to ensure that services and amenities reach the nation, adding “we consider you our partners in national development.”

He said in the past the relationship between the government and unions has been fraught with challenges, but that those disagreements should be a lesson to both.

He said this could not be achieved overnight, adding that the BDP has embarked on an outreach programme where it engages stakeholders to exchange notes and cultivate closer working relations.

He said since the 36th national congress in Mmadinare in July, the BDP has interacted with BOPEU. He added that the dialogue, though unable to achieve what either formation desired, were an important building block towards a more constructive partnership.

He said the BDP doors remain open and that in the coming year, they intend to converse both online and offline with every single worker organisation.

Mr Ntuane reiterated on former general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Mr Zwelinzima Vavi’s words that no one could divorce workers from local, national and global politics.

He said the workers DNA was politics thus every campaign unions take up was politically and ideologically inspired.

Mr Vavi said unions have been domesticated and were used as platforms to advance careers of former trade unionists in government. ENDS