Government is planning not to renew contracts of both teachers and nurses this year.
Sunday Standard has established that in an effort to cut the public service wage bill, government will send over 1 000 temporary staff back home this year.
Early this year, government announced that it spends more than 1 billion pula every month on public service salaries and indicated plans to cut back the civil service wage bill.
Minister of Basic Education Fidelis Molao last month told Parliament that over 1 300 temporary teachers will be hired on permanent basis within a period of 3 years beginning this year. A source has claimed that over 600 temporary teachers whose contracts are coming to an end will not be renewed. “Government had planned to hire at least more than 40% of temporary staff of teachers and nurses between last year and this year” The slow recovery of the economy has affected government plans to hire temporary staff on permanent basis this year,” said source. Government will also cut a sizable number of temporary nurses to reduce wage bill.
Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) Central Executive Committee (Cec) has also indicated that it is following with deep concern the unpleasant situation of Nurses in the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“BONU is particularly concerned about the nonrenewal or termination of Temporary Nurses contracts and delayed /no payment of their monthly remunerations for unsatisfactory and unknown reasons”
“It must be categorically stated that and emphasized that these nurses are helpful because they do Covid-19 tests, contact tracing, Covid-19 vaccinations, and other routine Nursing activities”
“Therefore, termination of their contracts leads to acute shortage of manpower which causes the Nurses on the ground to be overwhelmed by numerous Nursing duties. Some Nurses have succumbed to COVID-19, others are in quarantines, home isolation, and the rest who are currently on duty are denied annual leave as the Covid-19 activities intensify from day to day”
The Union Secretary General, Lebogang Philip said temporary nurses have not been paid over two months now.
Meanwhile, According to Trading economics global macro models report, Unemployment Rate in Botswana is expected to reach 18.60 percent by the end of 2021.
It has been reported that due to Covid-19, unemployment rate is bound to grow, with more companies facing collapse.
