16 Jul 2019

The Office of the President wishes to place it on record that when the Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane recently alluded to delays in negotiations with unions, his remarks exclusively referred to the subject of the Bargaining Council, and not the ongoing negotiations on conditions of service for civil servants.

The statement from the Office of the President says in a news article appearing in the Mmegi newspaper edition of July 12, 2019, an out of context attribution may be formed about remarks made by the Vice President at a recent press conference, which may have given the impression that the Vice President was referring to the current negotiations between the government and the unions.

As a matter of fact, the continuing negotiations between unions and the employer represented by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) remain on course and are conducted by the two parties in the spirit of good faith bargaining.

The statement further states that the outcome of the negotiations on conditions of service for civil servants would be duly made public once the two parties have concluded their deliberations.

The subject of the Bargaining Council to which the Vice President intended alluding was a different matter that is unrelated to the ongoing negotiations on conditions of service for civil servants. Ends