10 Jul 2016

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama has expressed disappointment on how the Bargaining Council handles its business.

President Khama, who was addressing public service officers in Ramotswa on Thursday, said the Bargaining Council has ushered in a difficult era for public service salary adjustment.

He said this year the government had offered a three per cent salary increase which was subject to be reviewed should the economy improve, but the unions rejected it and fought it through the courts of law.

President Khama said he envisaged a Bargaining Council which would always be able to come to the negotiation table whenever the economy improves, even if it was in the middle of the financial year.

“We should be able to bargain the whole year,” he told public officers who thronged Kagiso Senior School hall.

He said the government was always willing to engage with unions if the economy recovered.

He added that the government was aware of welfare issues faced by public officers, and that the majority of them could not be addressed straightaway as they needed more money.

He said challenges such as accommodation and transport shortage were countrywide.

However, he said the government has come up with some solutions to officers’ challenges such as the introduction of housing and upkeep allowance for lower cadres, buying more government vehicles and paying officers full salary during studying.

He said the government was battling a high wage bill for its public officers which makes it difficult to increase salaries significantly.

He noted that almost half of the county’s national budget goes towards paying salaries of public officers.

Furthermore, President Khama said the revised SHHA for D4 scales and below would start operating from 1 August.

He regretted that it has taken a long time for the improved SHHA loan scheme to be rolled out.

During presentation of staff grievances, Mr Basima Basima from Tswelelopele Brigade complained of shortage of staff accommodation, delayed response to staff grievances and officers staying long in one station as some of the issues affecting productivity in the work place.

Mr Basima also called upon the government to abolish the A salary scale, and further asked for an update on the SHHA scheme. ENDS