Workers in diamond cutting firms exploited
Workers in the diamond and cutting industry have complained of their human rights being violated and victimised in some companies.
Botswana Diamond Workers Union ( BDWU) Vice Chairman Dominic Mapoka said labour practices are still being experienced. He stated that other companies are still refusing to discuss these issues with the Union ( training and localisation plan) especially companies that are having more numbers of expatriates and others used them to deny Trade Union recognition.
Mapoka who was making a presentation to Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development Mpho Balopi about their plight said working conditions that is not supportive to performance of local workers is also a problem within their sector.
“We are pleading that your Ministry and relevant Department take serious action against factories that are deliberately not meeting the health and safety requirements/ standards and also make sure that the right health and safety equipments are used for the workers’ sake.
“We call upon our Government to look into the wage rate of the diamond cutting and polishing sector. The rate is very low and we feel that the rate used in the manufacturing sector should not be used in our industries as our industries are different,” he said.
According to him diamond cutting and polishing industries are making huge profits every month and workers get little out of these profits. He argues that in beneficiation only three parties, ( DeBeers, Government and Investors) are benefiting and the other party ( which is polishers and sorters) does not benefit from polishing hundred thousand of US Dollars worth of diamonds every month. “We feel we are being exploited; we are slaves rather than employees by these companies and not getting value for our work and natural resources,” revealed Mapoka.
He said Government has a good economic strategy which they applaud. “It is evident that jobs have been created for Batswana but the question is; are we benefiting from these jobs that have been created in the diamond cutting and polishing industry,” asked Mapoka.
With regards to training and localisation the BDWU leader pointed out that they have followed all the steps necessary to raise their concerns with relevant government departments and authorities but nothing has improved and now they demand the government to do follow ups on the localisation plan to make sure that the positions are given to deserving Batswana who are ready to take them.
He added that in some polishing factories, good workers who are supposed to take up certain positions from expatriates have been dismissed so that “when asked by the authorities why local workers cannot take up that certain position; the company will have a “good” reason why local workers cannot take up certain positions yet because of that movement.”
“We are also aware that the government has been told by these companies that they have monitors who will take up supervisors positions once they are ready, but these are ghost monitors and believe that if the government does not make a follow up on its strategies that it has set, we are going to see more expatriates coming in large numbers in the country to take positions or works that are supposed to be for local workers,” Mapoka explained.