03 May 2017

Work related stress has increased due to greater job insecurity in some mines. Member of Parliament for Boteti East Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe said on Monday in Letlhakane during May Day celebrations by Botswana Mine Workers Union and BOFEPUSU.

Mr Lelatisitswe said work related stress increased due to more intense work in some mines, less mobility and perhaps acceptance of part-time and temporary work out of neccessity rather than choice.

The consequences of job losses he noted reached beyond mere financial consideration, touching deeply on personal and social values.

He stated that protecting and promoting working conditions in the mines was about taking care of human capital.

He said there was a remarkable heritage of law and policies in Botswana to ensure good working conditions that allowed for high levels of satisfaction among employees.

Mr Lelatisitswe noted that working conditions concerned the daily lives of not only the mine workers but also about their contribution to the economy and society.

The president of BMWU Mr Jack Tlhagale said trade unions were going through trying times.

He decried the current state of affairs where workers unions were not working in unison.

He added that the direct effect of closure of BCL mine was the loss of jobs and income for over 4 200 workers who were employed by the mine.

The indirect effect included the fact that companies that were providing services based on subcontracts would also ultimately be closed putting additional workers on the streets.

Mr Tlhagale said the indirect jobs that would be lost may even be higher than the direct ones.

Palapye town he said would be affected as Morupule coal mine would probably downsize its operations as BCL was the user of its coal.

Mr Tlhagale said they can do better in solidarity saying if united as unions, they could find better ways to address these challnges facing the workers.

The unionist said BOFEPUSU withdrawal from the public sector bargaining council was ‘a tragedy,’ noting that collective bargaining was critical.

Debswana senior human resources manager Ms Lebole Mokoto, said the theme, Stop Loss of Jobs, Stop Liquidation, was informed by changing market conditions globally and nationally which had mounted pressure on job markets.

Ms Lebole said no sector was left unaffected by strained market conditions.

That she said had required that company leadership teams and worker movement leadership teams worked more closely together to find solutions on how to pre-empt any possible job losses or potential liquidation.

Debswana he said had developed a model in which the company leadership and BMWU periodically reviewed the company's performance and its likely impact on all aspects from employee welfare and company performance. ENDS