Salary hike talks heat up
Five Cooperating Unions will hold countrywide mass workers’ rallies and meetings from the 22nd to 24th of April 2024, to update and consult public servants on the adjourned salary negotiations with Government. The trade unions are Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU), Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Botswana Sector of Educators Union (BOSETU), Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) and Botswana Landboards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union (BLLAWHU).
Acting Coordinator of the cooperating unions, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa stated this week that the unions have proposed 15 percent salary increment to cushion workers against purchasing power. He explained that in their proposal, the Unions are pushing for equity, spurred by the belief that as creators of wealth, workers deserve a stake in the redistribution of benefits of the economy.
A key objective of compensation administration is to ensure internal and external equity in the payment of salary and other benefits. Internal equity refers to the payment of equal compensation for jobs of similar nature and worth within the organisation.
On the other hand, the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM), representing the Employer Party’s Position Paper is silent on this key principle despite recent developments that violate it.
“We are also pushing for Protection of Workers welfare: As a matter of human rights, wages should be sufficient to accord the worker and his or her household an acceptable standard of living. Further, wage adjustments should protect workers’ welfare.
“This means protecting real wages from erosion by inflation. The Employer party does not address this most critical of issues even though the Union Party explicitly raised it,” Motshegwa pointed out.
He said the unions are further calling for motivation and staff morale. He explained that wage setting is also fundamentally about motivating workers. It also matters what workers are offered and how internal relativities are affected, adding that workers can be demotivated not only by low salary adjustments but also by discriminatory treatment.
The Union Party (5CTU) says after its own analysis of the economic performance, proposed to the employer that the five percent be adjusted upward by 10 percent resulting in a total of 15 percent across the board adjustment for employees within five unions' bargaining unit (A-D bands).
The proposal by the union is premised on the need to motivate employees boast workplace morale, the urgent need to cushion employees against inflationary burden which have eroded their purchasing power, and the quest for equity in protection of employees’ welfare.
“The employer party on the other hand brought to the table the same five percent that was agreed in 2022 which means that the employer proposed a zero percent following the review of the economic performance.
“Members of the 5CTU should note that in coming up with the aggregate 15 percent proposal for salary adjustment, the following factors that support the adjustment were considered; The Health of the Economy Our assessment of key economic fundamentals suggests the economy is strong,” the unions said.