29 Apr 2025

Government intends to review the Compensation Act to ensure employees are adequately compensated.

This was said by Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General Pius Mokgware during World Day for Safety and Health at Work in Letlhakane on Monday. He said the aim was to set up the Workman Retirement Compensation Fund. 

He noted that accidents in the workplace go unreported and the process taken to pay or compensate the injured took long. Maj. Gen. Mokgware also said safety, health and fairness should remain at the heart of the national agenda.

A safe workplace he said, reduced injuries, minimised economic disruptions and enhanced efficiency, all of which were critical to the ambition of a prosperous and inclusive Botswana. He further said organisations should have a national occupational Safety and Health (OSH) policy as well as OSH officers.

He  said union and OSH representatives would be involved in labour inspections. Additionally, he said government wanted to cultivate a well incentivised, highly productive and accountable labour force that valued and took pride in its work. The minister said government remained unwavering in its commitment not only to job creation but also to tackling the challenges of job losses and retrenchments.

Mr Mokgware further said Botswana would ratify Labour Convention adding that in the July Parliament session, he would table labour and employment bill to Parliament as well as the OSH policy. He further implored the public to embrace technology, stating that technology served as a reinforcer in the workplace as it was an enabler for employees to perform better.

For his part, BOFEPUSU representative, Mr Gotlamang Oitsile said it was disheartening that Botswana was moving at a snail pace to ratify the ILO Convention 155 on occupational health and safety. Ratifying the convention, he said would show commitment to protection of workers’ rights and promotion of a safe and healthy environment.

He also said digital tools like AI driven analytics, real time monitoring and predictive modelling, if employed, could enhance risk assessments and OSH strategies. However, he said they must complement and not replace human judgement in OSH practices.

Botswana Mine Workers Unions national chairperson for Safety, Health and Environment, Mr Emmanuel Mangope said OSH policy had since been drafted but was not implemented. Mr Mangope said unions should be allowed to participate in inspections because outcomes of inspections did not reflect what was on the ground.

For his part, Letlhakane Business Council executive committee member, Mr Mackey Nthabane said they believed that protecting workforce was not only a legal responsibility but also a moral and economic necessity. The event was commemorated under the theme: Revolutionising Safety and Health, the Role of AI and Digitisation at Work. ENDS