05 May 2024

A lawyer in private practice, Mr Carter Joseph, has called for the establishment of a superior court to deal with labour matters.

While he appreciated the existence of the Industrial Court and its mandate in settling trade disputes and securing and maintaining good industrial relations, he said it was overwhelmed hence the need to have another proper structure, which could attend to labour matters at an appropriate time.

He made the remarks during May Day celebration in Maun recently,  noting that as legal practitioners, they desperately need the structure to timely execute labour cases noting that in some other countries, there was a Supreme Court responsible for labour matters.

He said workers jobs were not protected indicating some were dismissed from work without negotiations and replaced within a short period of time while they were still in the process to pursue cases before court and believed that the superior court could help to conduct cases effectively and efficiently.

“It is a constitutional fundamental right that workers are protected from slavery,” he added.

“Long periods of uncertainty without legal redress place a heavy burden on dismissed employees hence we want a superior court.”

Mr Joseph also called on trade unions to work in unison when negotiating over working conditions such as wages and other labour related issues.

He advised that working in isolation was not effective but as a team, their voice could be heard by the employer. Currently, he said, some workers were exploited, as they were not compensated for what they do.

He urged unions to engage the employer on pending issues they agreed upon during the collective bargaining, but were never implemented.

“You should engage the employer to take you serious and come up with reforms that promote workers collective power. Strong unions should be able to set industry standards for wages and benefits,” he said.

At the same event, representatives of some political parties and different unions shared their solidarity messages.

The Member of Parliament for Maun East, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile, thanked the unions for teaming up in celebrating their achievements and encouraged them to motivate their members to take Labour Day seriously.

He urged the unions to organise vigorously and speak with one voice on national issues.

He also urged them to  strive for the formation of private sector unions and help the rest of the civil society to speak out over labour issues.

Mr Thato Elias from the Botswana Democratic Party acknowledged the importance of trade unions saying they were good for the economy when constituted correctly and having a model that realistically suits their country of operation.

Mr Elias said: “I will like to believe that this is the case with our current trade unions.

Of course, the neoclassical orthodox economist will tell you that unions are bad because they pressure wages above the market clearing level hence leading to unemployment and high prices for goods and services,” he said.

He said the reality on the ground was not so simple as it was the unions that helped in ending unsafe practices in the workplace as well as lifting labour, which in turn builds up a strong middle class economy where the majority of the middle class are concentrated.

He said he appreciated that unions helped to make people’s lives better as they created broadly shared prosperity, as well as making sure that jobs were safe.

The deputy president of the Botswana Mine Workers Union, Mr Phetogo Pogiso said the theme: Decent jobs, just transition,  was a call that resonated deeply in the heart of every worker seeking fairness, security and prosperity in an ever changing world.

He said the theme spoke to the need for transformation in industries, especially in mining to adapt to new economic realities while ensuring that no worker was left behind.

“As we reflect on the term ‘decent job’, we are talking about employment that respects the fundamental rights of the human being, the environment and the community.

A decent job is one where workers are safe, where wages are fair and rights are respected,” he said. ENDS