15 Jun 2017

Botswana has been implored to reconsider her position regarding allegations of non-compliance with Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise.  

The advice was made by Senator Winnie Magagula, Minister of Labour and Social Security in Swaziland on behalf of SADC member states while presenting before committee on Application of Standards in the case of Botswana government at ILO this week.

Minister Magagula noted that in that regard, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwethe following SADC member states align themselves with this statement.

She said the SADC member states acknowledged the efforts of the government of Botswana, as articulated in her submission presented before the committee.

However Minister Magagula noted with gratitude the technical assistance that ILO had already started to provide to Botswana to fully comply with the said international labour instruments.

In the meantime, she encouraged meaningful and constructive social dialogue among all the partners involved in ensuring full compliance with the convention, while at the same time taking into account the local socio-economic environment of the country.

In order to ensure compliance with the said instruments, particularly as they may relate to law reforms to align national legislation to be in conformity with international labour standards as well as capacity building, the SADC member states therefore requested ILO to continue rendering technical assistance in ensuring that this objective is expeditiously realised to ensure full compliance with the convention.

“In the SADC region, we are dedicated to promoting International Labour Standards with our regional means of enforcement through our own regional protocols and policies, such as the SADC Employment and Labour Sector Protocol, the SADC Decent Work Agenda, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan,” she stated.

According  to Senator Magagula, these regional protocols and policies obligate SADC member states to give updates on efforts made to comply with the international labour instruments both in law and in practice as they cascade to national decent work strategic initiatives and policies.

Meanwhile, SADC member states implored the committee to give the government of Botswana an opportunity and space, together with the necessary technical assistance which would enable her to deal with her internal review processes of the relevant national legislations in an effort to ensure that they were fully aligned with ILO Convention No. 87. ENDS