29 Jun 2022

Botswana is reviewing its labour laws to make the working environment safer, as per recommendation of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) committee on application of standards, labour and home affairs minister Minister Ms Anna Mokgethi said here Monday.

She was briefing the media on the proceedings of the 110th session of the International Labour Conference she recently attended in Geneva, Switzerland alongside business and labour movement representatives.

“We have to move with speed to conclude this process and report to the ILO accordingly,” she said.

One of the major highlights of the conference, held from May 27 to June 11, was the addition of safety and health to fundamental principles and rights at work, she said.

“This means we will have to comply with ILO conventions on occupational safety and health in practice and in law,” Ms Mokgethi said.

She added however, that government was already complying with ILO Conventions on occupational safety and health.

Government was fully committed to the development of a national policy on occupational health and safety, which her ministry was working around time to finalise, she said.

A labour delegation representative, Mr Thusang Butale said the conference, among others, touched on skills mismatch and lack of employment opportunities for young people.

He called for expedited implementation of the employment policy, saying it was not helping the unemployed young people in its current form.

Mr Butale said there was need for dialogue toward implementation of the policy, and to ponder how that would affect the country’s employment landscape.

From the business delegation, Mr Dichabe Molobe said there was need for Botswana to learn from the ILO conference and called on the country to open its economy.

“Let us not freeze amidst the pandemic and do our best to open the economy in all fronts,” he said. BOPA