The government decision to raise the minimum wage rates for the 2012/13 financial year with effect from April 1 is a welcome development.
This is especially so given that the rates were last increased in the 2010/2011 financial year.
While we applaud the government for making the move, we would like to underscore that the rates still remain extremely low when compared with the fast rising cost of living.
It is irrefutable that the minimum wage which has been raised is way still far too low to create a decent living for the workers who are enduring the prevailing economic hardships.
The nine percent increment has raised these workers’ salaries to a meager P831-60 for a 22 days cycle worked in a month for the highest paid. The lowest paid, being the domestic service sector are now entitled to P415.80 while the agricultural sector comprising mostly herd-men or cattle herders will earn P445 per month.
There is no doubt that these wages will not provide the workers with a decent living. The cost of living in Botswana is unbearably high. Cost of utilities like rent, electricity and water has been skyrocketing in the recent past.
These workers are people with families which they support financially. And they cannot afford to do it from these meagre wages.
On the commemoration of Workers Day on May 1, 2012, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Edwin Batshu observed that one cannot talk about decent work without talking about a decent living wage.
He defined a decent living wage as one that can afford the worker or earner and his or her family the most basic amenities without the need for reliance on a government poverty programme.
“It is in this regard that government, in consultation with the unions and employers through the Minimum Wage Advisory Board, regularly reviews and recommends adjustment of the minimum wage rates, taking into consideration factors such as the prevailing cost of living, levels of productivity, and unemployment levels, to name but a few”, said the labour minister.
The labour minister then urged the unions to ensure that the minimum wage rates were complied with by reporting any non-compliance with the nearest Labour Office.
It is common knowledge that some unscrupulous employers disregard the implementation of the minimum wage rates with impunity.
While we welcome government decision to increase the minimum wage rate, we are however concerned by lack of mechanisms in place to ensure or monitor the implementation of the same by the employers.
Lack of such monitoring mechanisms has tended to tempt some employers to disregard the minimum wage requirement with the knowledge that no remedial action will be taken against them.
We entirely agree with the minister that the unions should join hands with other stakeholders in reporting these violations.
We are quite aware that most of these workers are people with little or no education and whose basic human rights are generally violated with impunity. It is therefore imperative that the unions help government bring these perpetrators to book.
It is not only minister Batshu who has made this observation. A similar observation was made by Leader of Opposition Botsalo Ntuane when he officiated at the opening of the Rail Pak Mall in Gaborone recently.
Ntuane said his parliamentary office was inundated with complaints from employees at other shopping malls regarding violations of labour laws and other unacceptable conduct by employers and urged various stakeholders to work towards a harmonious working relationship.
We know for a fact that it is not only Ntuane’s office that is inundated with such complaints. Most parliamentary offices have been turned into shop stewards of some sort by aggrieved employees who have given up on reporting their matters at the Labour Office.
Allegations abound that labour officers are routinely corrupted by these unscrupulous employers who have no regard for the country’s labour laws.
Both legislators observed that if the workers are happy, productivity and levels and by extension, profits will go up.
Their observations are spot on. Happy workers are able to deliver and drive their productivity levels as well as their organisations’ profitability up.
We wish to urge all employers to ensure that they implement the minimum wage requirement and in cases where profitability is high, pay beyond the minimum wage limit.
By so doing they would invariably be creating a decent working environment for the employees who are struggling to make ends meet.
Employers must know that their enterprises cannot survive without the input of the workers. Workers are no doubt valuable company assets. They must never be treated as company liabilities.
That is why any form of abuse of employees should never be condoned in the work place. All stakeholders must put their heads together to ensure the workers safety and happiness in the work place.
Victimizing workers should become a thing of the past. Workers are a driving force behind any country or organization’s economic viability and wellbeing.
We must all strive for excellence in the work place and make our country a place worth living in.
