06 Apr 2020

Retrenchments, dismissals worry govt

Government is troubled by reported incidents of illegal retrenchments and dismissed staff, inconsistent with the pronouncements made by the government to cushion businesses amid  COVID-19.
Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity & Skills Development, Mr Mpho Balopi said during a briefing on COVID-19 state of public emergency in Gaborone on Sunday(April05), that such acts were offensive and highly regrettable as government expected solidarity during the trying times.

 “It is highly regrettable that certain organisations (businesses, and institutions which do business with government) have been acting in a less than proper or appropriate manner,” he said. 
He said the President has stated that Batswana should all work towards containment, while making sure that lives and businesses are sustained.

In this regard, he said it was evident that some companies did not inform themselves of the various packages, from government, which had been publicly shared. Such packages, he said included providing wage replacement subsidies aimed at enabling businesses affected by COVID-19 to retain employees in the challenging times.

Furthermore, he said government had provided loan guarantees, wage subsides which aggregate to a total of P5bn or 2.5 per cent of the GDP to assist affected businesses with wage subsidies and loan guarantees. Ends