08 Dec 2022

The Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) has been directed to constantly update unions on any policy shift or movement.

This was disclosed by Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), Ms Emma Peloetletse in Palapye Tuesday at a BOPEU central executive committee meeting.

That, she said, would not only provide feedback to government but would also ensure alignment of employee welfare and conditions of service  issues.

  Ms Peloetletse urged BOPEU and other public sector unions to continue participating in government/labour movement engagements because they were the state’s strategic partners in development.

The knowledge acquired through such engagements would ensure that unions became true ambassadors of the country, she said.

   Saying for its part government was committed to engaging the unions on issues that positively affected employee livelihoods, PSP said the commitment was evidenced by government’s continued recognition of structures such as the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC).

“We believe the Public Service Bargaining Council is a vital platform for fostering healthy relations between the government, public sector unions and public servants. Even though the bargaining council is not yet finalised, a lot of common ground has been covered,” she said.

On another issue, Ms Peloetletse said because of its conviction that well trained employees were likely to give the best service, government was committed to investing in the development of the public service.

She informed her audience that government was in the process of merging Botswana National Productivity Centre and Botswana Public Service College for the purpose of consolidating their programmes.

That would contribute immensely to the quality of training offered to public service employees, PSP said.

BOPEU president, Ms Masego Mogwera, said the continued non-functioning of the PSBC was a violation of the law by the employer.

Quoting the 2008 Public Service Act which established the PSBC, she stated that an aggrieved employee was supposed to take their matter to the council.

“The act continues to recognise the PSBC as a dispute resolution structure yet the same structure does not exist. In this case the workers are the greatest losers as the council provided the most effective dispute resolution mechanism as compared to the one provided under the Trade Disputes Act,” she said.

She said since the council’s resuscitation was said to be a priority in 2018,  DPSM should expedite it. Ends