The winds of change are without any doubt blowing across our beloved republic. Trade unions representing workers in the public sector are at loggerheads with the government. The disagreements and conflicts that characterize the relationship between trade unions and government can be attributed to two factors: sheer arrogance of government officials and the implementation of the new Public Service Act on 1st May 2010.
Let me start by indicating that trade unions basically contend that their members should be remunerated well because they are the ones directly providing essential services to the nation.
They also argue that their members have been doing things that they are not supposed to do or are not paid to do for many years. Examples cited include invigilation of final examinations and supervision of sporting activities by teachers; consultation of patients as well as dispensing of drugs and medicines by nurses.
The question that one might ask is: why is it that teachers and nurses are complaining now when they have performed these duties for many years without demanding payment? Well, the answer is simple, as human beings we all want our efforts and skills to be recognized and rewarded accordingly. Nowadays people are more enlightened. They know their rights, responsibilities and market value within the capitalist society that they live in. It is therefore not surprising that they want to be paid for the extra work that they do. This in my view is a simple demand that I believe will cripple the education and health systems of this country if not addressed in a sober and mature manner by the Khama administration.
Sheer arrogance on the part of government as clearly demonstrated by the BEC officials regarding invigilation and grading of final exams will never assist any party to resolve the problem. Following last year’s high court ruling that invigilation of final exams is not part of the duties of teachers, the BEC should have engaged all the trade unions representing teachers with a view to finding ways and means through which the two parties can cooperate for the good of the students and for protecting the credibility of the exams.
But as we all know, the BEC deemed it appropriate to offer teachers P30.00 to invigilate exams as opposed to P160.00 that they demanded. When it became clear that the teachers are not going to budge, the BEC decided to engage retired teachers and unemployed graduates to invigilate exams thus putting the credibility of the same in doubt. We have read stories in the newspapers about the blunders that were made in different schools even though Dr. Moahi and Minister Venson-Moitoi told us that everything is going on smoothly. This to me is sheer arrogance and dishonesty on the part of the Minister and the BEC which may result in some parents suing the government for failure to administer final exams appropriately.
The new Public Service Act gives trade unions more power and has totally disempowered the government. People who were employed as casual labourers have now been absorbed on permanent and pensionable basis. Public officers irrespective of the post that they hold can claim overtime allowance. All public officers will be paid for working twenty-two and not twenty days as it used to be the case. A Bargaining Council has to be registered with the Commissioner of Labour, a contentious issue that has already pitted DPSM against some of the trade unions who do not agree with the one-third threshold for admission to the council. Teachers now work eight hours a day thus resulting in the disruption of school programmes.
The new Act also allows people to retire before reaching the age of fifty. All those who decide to retire will get one third of their pensions (tax free) as a lump sum and will receive their monthly payments without any delay. I read in the Gazette newspaper last week that this provision has given people a good excuse to retire from the public service and is also used by those who are already pensioners to claim the money that they lost to the taxman when they retired. Apparently some are also planning to claim the monthly installments that they never received after retiring because they were below the age of fifty.
All the changes that I have alluded to above have dire financial consequences as evidenced by the fact that over P2 billion is needed only to cover back pays. Now if we include other items such as paying teachers and nurses for the extra work that they have been doing, adjustment of the salaries and allowances of members of the disciplined forces who are definitely waiting on the wings, the wage bill is definitely going to be higher.
Is the government going to pay or is it going to sacrifice sporting activities and final exams in schools as well as consultations and dispensing of medication by nurses? Why was the new Act introduced when it is very clear that the government was not prepared for it? But most importantly, how long can the center hold to avoid a total collapse of different sectors of our republic given the number of people directly involved and the amount of money that the government has to spend?
As the final exams and remuneration crisis deepens, the Director of DPSM, Minister Vension-Moitoi, Rev. Dr. Seakgosing and President Khama should be addressing the nation on these issues. Credible leaders in the twenty-first century communicate with citizens on issues that affect them so that they (citizens) can appreciate the efforts that the administration is making to address them. If President Khama can find time to address kgotla meetings and sit around fires where he swiftly announces the introduction and increase of the alcohol levy, why is it difficult for him to address the nation on very serious issues that can jeopardize the future of over twenty thousand students? Why is it difficult for him to address citizens on issues that can paralyze the education and health sectors of this country?
Keeping quiet is no longer an option and I strongly believe that the president and his ministers should borrow a leaf from the Chilean Minister of Mines and the President of Chile who moved their offices to the San Jose mine for two months where they kept the Chilean people and the world informed about efforts made to rescue the thirty-three miners who were trapped underground.
*Dr Mothusi teaches Public Administration at the University of Botswana
