26 Feb 2025

Ministry is aware that some workers of private security and cleaning companies have not been paid their wages and benefits on time, Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Mr Pius Mokgware said.
He said the ministry became aware of such disputes when they were reported to the Commissioner of Labour for dispute resolution.
He said employees were advised to report to the Commissioner of Labour’s officers in terms of provisions of the trade disputes act for dispute resolution, dealing with issues where employees are not paid their wages or benefits on time or they are not paid at all.
The matter he said may be resolved at mediation or failure to settle maybe referred to arbitration or industrial court for adjudication.
Further, his ministry he said conducted labour inspections to raise awareness of all party’s employment obligations and compliance to labour laws.
The ministry he said also engaged the respective companies and or company owners.
Mr Mokgware said the ministry to date registered a total of nine hundred eighty cases of such nature which had been reported concerning security and or cleaning companies.
The breakdown of pending or received companies were as follow; 738 security companies, out these 698 disputes have been resolved translating to 82.2 per cent and 152 cases were still pending translating to 17.8 per cent.
He indicated that they have also registered 130 cases of cleaning companies, out of these 115 cases had been resolved translating to 88.40 per cent, to this end fifteen disputes were still pending, 11.6 per cent were still pending.
Minister Mokgware said there were a couple of reasons behind pending cases indicating that was because cases increased substantially outweighing available resources. Other reasons he said were due to instances where employers send officers who are not able to make decisions.ENDS
He said in an effort to speed up resolution of the cases the ministry engaged part time mediators or arbitrators to deal with the disputes.
Furthermore, the ministry constituted task teams to deal with pending cases.
Mr Mokgware stressed that employers were at fault for failing to pay workers their wages.
Employers he said entered in to contract of employment with employees and they should fulfill their contractual obligations.
He said there were incidences where employers were paid by procuring entities but still failed to pay wages.  The ministry he said continued to engage employers on non-payment of wages or salaries and other matters of concern.
Mr Mokgware said the ministry continued monitor compliance through labour inspections, media campaigns, ministry Facebook page and radio programmes.
The ministry he said also prioritised automation of dispute resolution process in an effort to improve service delivery.
In addition, the ministry he said collaborated with office of the President through the department of private security licensing to assist workers in getting their dues from companies that failed to pay their wages and benefits.
The two ministries he said work together to suspend and or cancel licences of security companies in situations where government paid the service providers, who fail to pay their employees.
Maun East MP Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile had asked Minister of Labour and Home Affairs if he was aware that workers in security and cleaning companies were not paid their wages and benefits on time.
He asked the Minister to state measures put in place to alleviate the challenge.
Mr Mokgware was to also state the number of cases reported to the labour office and the number cases resolved.
He also asked the Minister to state reasons behind pending cases and how the ministry was speeding up conclusion of the case.
Mr Kgonegile asked the Minister to explain who was at fault whether it was government not paying companies on time or companies deliberately not paying workers. Mr Mokgware had to state the long term solution of infringement on human rights. ENDS