14 Jun 2020

Prudent social dialogue is necessary during a COVID-19 pandemic era, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Employment Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Kabelo Ebineng, has said.

Speaking during a media briefing in Gaborone on June 11, Mr Ebineng said a significant number of trade disputes was registered with the commissioner of labour since commencement of the state of emergency;  370 cases.

He noted that 144 of the cases were COVID-19 related, indicating that 34 were dismissals, which involved 64 employees and 12 were retrenchments for 130 employees.

Mr Ebineng said the cases were pending mediation, which would be conducted in July and would go into arbitration for adjudication if mediation failed.

He noted that there was confusion regarding trade issues where some companies had either received wage subsidies, but failed to pay employees or abdicated their obligation to pay employees in terms of their contracts by paying them subsidy money only.

He urged employers to abide by the labour contracts they entered into with their employees and reach a favourable consensus.

Furthermore, the permanent secretary noted that employees, who were declared essential workers, were entitled to payment for time worked.

Addressing wage structures post the subsidy, which would end as at June, Mr Ebineng noted that companies were expected to continue paying their employees as per their stipulated minimum wage, although variations could occur.

He noted that social protections and decent work programmes would continue protecting Batswana post the regulations stipulated in the state of emergency, to ensure that their entitlements would not taken for granted.

He, however, stressed the importance of meaningful negotiations as key to ensuring that wage structures and working conditions were conducive for the prevailing conditions where businesses remained challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, acting commissioner of labour, Ms Goitseone Kokorwe, urged both employers and employees, including unions, to be cognizant of the fact that labour laws were made for normal working conditions.

She advised the tripartite stakeholders to follow best work practices to avert any labour tensions, noting that post state of emergency and without a sufficient wage subsidy, wage cuts might continue being the norm until the depression caused on businesses by COVID-19 subsides. ENDS