21 Jun 2022

Trade unions are important vehicles for the improvement of working conditions and they subscribe to protective legislation that mitigate the injustices caused by the free market system.

And Botswana Land Boards Local Authorities Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) exists to protect, advance and deepen workers’ rights, to bargain for the improvement of workers conditions of service and welfare as well as for social justice, says BLLAHWU secretary general Mr Ketlhalefile Motshegwa.

Speaking at the union’s  50^th anniversary celebrations in Serowe recently, Mr Motshegwa said BLLAHWU cherished and respected relations with its stakeholders and partners, adding that it believed in serving with excellence.

He said they bargained with the employer on remunerations and other terms and conditions of employment including the physical conditions under which employees were required to work. 

He also mentioned employment benefits, employment policies concerning recruitment, appointment, training, transfer, promotion, suspension, discipline and dismissal. Mr Motshegwa also said they strived for just standards of living, social and economic justice as well as fair conditions of work.

He said union leaders had to understand how the country’s economy affected workers and to formulate policies on how the economy should be restructured in the interests of the working class. He noted that BLLAHWU was a duly registered trade union and was recognised by the government through a collective agreement.

He said the union was established in 1972 as a progressive force, a culture that still prevailed.

BLLAHWU is also affiliated to the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), Public Service International and AMALGUN and enjoys bi-lateral relations with a number of unions in Africa. ends