Easter present for public servants!

For most civil servants wishing to celebrate the Good Friday and Easter Monday the recent decision by government to extend a 5 percent salary increment cast a dampener on the Easter mood.

With no sign of salary negotiation compromise between Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) and the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), negotiators have settled for a 5 percent across-the-board salary increase for government employees following a meeting on Wednesday that sources say lasted for eight hours. Towards some kind of amelioration, it is understood that government will also introduce a 2 percent housing allowance that unions consider to be a major breakthrough although they view it as being too little. “Unions want more than 2 percent as housing allowance,” said a source who would not elaborate.

In a milestone tradeoff, public servants' salaries on study leave will no longer be slashed. Instead public servants will be paid their salaries in full for the duration of the entire study leave.
 The unions’ demands included conditions of service, among them extension of entertainment allowance to other cadres, leave travelling concession, improvement of overtime rates, introduction of paternity leave, increase of contribution of government in contributory pension, improvement of the mileage allowance, improvement of the subsistence allowance, as well as introduction of a housing allowance and a 13th cheque in the civil service by the end of this year.

When salary negotiation resumed on March 23, the parties started with the affordability and sustainability of any possible increment. As the negotiations went on, the unions moved from their original 15 percent to 13 percent and later 11 percent. The employer, on the other hand, conceded little, only moving from 4 percent 5 percent. “The employer later indicated that though government was out of its mandate, it was still ready to engage and further proposed that parties negotiate the issue of a housing allowance alongside a salary increment as that might give them room to manoeuvre.” states an email from one of the negotiators.

Said Sikalame Seitiso, the chief negotiator for the unions: “We have made progress in the negotiations and I am confident that we will conclude today (Thursday). At the moment I am not in a position to give detailed information.” The General Secretary of the Bargaining Council, Patla Ulaula, was also cagey with details. “Currently I am not in a position to share anything because we are still waiting to finish a few things before issuing a press statement today (Thursday),” he said. “Everything will be communicated to the public in the afternoon today (Thursday).”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has on several occasions advised government to trim its wage bill that stands at P13 billion annually (about 10 percent of GDP) on 130 000 employees. The 5 percent increment will push the wage bill up by P675 million.BOFEPUSU submitted its proposal for a salary increment and improved conditions of service to the Secretariat of the Bargaining Council on November 25, 2014. The employer only replied through a counterproposal on January 20, 2015.

The chief negotiator of the government was Kebonye Moepeng, who was assisted by the Deputy Director of DPSM, Theophillas Mooko. Other members of the government team were Cornelius Dekop, Thato Mojaji, Jimmy Opelo, Kitso Ditlhokwa and Nomsa Mhutsiwa.

In addition to chief negotiator Seitiso, the union team was made up of Johannes Tshukudu, Tobokani Rari, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa, Samuel Molaodi, Johnson Motshwarakgole and Oaitse Patle. Tsetsele Fantan was roped in as independent facilitator.