Unions suffer another blow

Public sector trade unions challenging the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) decision to pull out of the Bargaining Council were this week sent from pillar to post, as their case was not heard again.

The case got off to a shaky start last Wednesday as Justice Tshepo Motswagole raised some technical issues and postponed the matter to this week Wednesday. However confusion reigned this week as the case files travelled from Lobatse to Gaborone and back to Lobatse but the case never saw the light of day. This is despite the fact that unions wanted the issue to be heard on urgency basis. The turn of events throws unions’ hopes to negotiate for civil servants salary increments into jeopardy. According to the unions’ attorney, Tshiamo Rantao, they received a phone call on Tuesday from the office of the High Court Registrar  informing them that Justice Motswagole is on sick leave and thus the matter has been re-assigned to Justice Raneire Shakes Busang in Gaborone.

But as lawyers representing both the unions and DPSM met the Judge on Wednesday morning he informed them that he has not yet received the case file. Rantao takes over. “He did not give us any assurances that he will hear the matter but told us to come in the afternoon.” In the afternoon the Judge told the lawyers that he has returned the matter back to the registrar. Apparently the matter was not properly re-assigned and now has been sent back to Lobatse. Rantao said in an interview that the High Court registry has aggrieved his clients. “Right now we do not know what is happening. We do not know when justice will be delivered.” He noted that the matter is of public importance.

The union attorney said they are not aware when Justice Motswagole will be back from sick leave. DPSM recently pulled out of the Bargaining Council [BC]citing unions’ involvement in partisan politics as the major reason. The decision has interrupted the activities of the Council and civil service salary negotiations have come to a halt. Unions are challenging the DPSM director, Carter Morupisi’s decision to suspend government negotiators from the BC saying they were not given a chance to be heard. They also argue that Morupisi’s decision has caused them irreparable harm.

“The rules on salary negotiations envisaged that they take place no more than 30 days and it would render the 2013/14 negotiations impossible if there is a non-existent Council due to the First Respondent’s (DPSM) absence,” they state in their Heads of Argument.