BOFEPUSU Wants DPSM Boss Out

Despite her employer showing confidence in her capabilities, extending her employment contract, worker unions want Goitseone Mosalakatane to be removed from her position.

The Botswana Federation of Public, Private & Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) says the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) boss is ‘incompetent’ and is ‘failing to work’ with the unions. The resolutions were reached at the Governing Council of BOFEPUSU held on November 28-29, 2020 in Palapye.

“As Head of Governmental Administration/Human Resources by virtue of being director of DPSM, she lacks emotional intelligence and capacity to deal with unions. She looks lost in public service, as she is clueless about what is going on being one imported from the private sector. That is worsened by the almost absent Permanent Secretary to President (PSP) who also was imported from private sector,” BOFEPUSU resolutions read.

The federation states contrary to what has been said by Mosalakatane before the Public Accounts Committee, government deregistered the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC) because DPSM applied to the Commissioner of Labour for de-registration of the Council, which consequently did deregister it.

They state that public sector unions appealed to the Minister of Employment, Productivity and Skills, who refused the plea by the unions. The federation bemoans that as things stand there is no PSBC something that is a violation of the Public Service Act and contempt of ILO convention 98 on protection of the right to organise and collective bargaining.

They further resolved that labour laws and policies that are not in tandem with international labour standards and that ministries are reluctant to meet trade unions for engagement on industrial relations matters and therefore there are more pending items, which negatively impact on workplace relations and productivity.

Other issues include casualisation of labour and precarious jobs, which they say are triggered by privatisation and all its manifestation leading to many of the officers working on contract instead of permanent basis. “We are also concerned about lack of job security, authoritarian, and arrogant permanent secretaries and heads of departments that have bred a culture of adversarial industrial relations; outdated salary structure; lack of insurance and personal protection equipment to frontline workers in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19); unilateral variation of conditions of service by the employer,” the resolutions read.

They further state that they are concerned that most employees are not on medical aid because of low salaries and that it is optional. The federation blasted the recruitment and promotion system saying it is not merit-based and because of nepotism it rewards deadwood at the expense of competence and excellence.

Mosalakatane could not be reached for comment at press time, as her mobile phone was unreachable.