Media and Allied Workers Union launch this Friday

Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union (BOMAWU) will be launched this Friday in Gaborone, interim President Philemon Mmeso, has said.

Mmeso told The Midweek Sun that everything is in order and this is the moment for media workers to embrace this achievement. Despite only being launched this week, the union has however been active in addressing welfare issues for members and non-members in the media industry. Mmeso called on media workers to join the union in large numbers as after the launch the leadership is expected to hit the ground running.

The union was registered in January this year and among key issues, Mmeso said, would be to mobilise members and establish the union’s official office. “We have been accommodated by some of our comrades to do other administrative work. Now after the launch our focus would be membership drive, training of some of the leadership especially from regional and branch levels on labour issues and establish our own office. We want to have an empowered leadership so that they could be able to deal with issues at branch level,” he said.

Mmeso stated that the Friday launch would be followed by the General Assembly on Saturday. Secretary General of Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, Foster Dongozi, will give a keynote address. He is also member of the Steering Committee for Federation of African Journalists. Mmeso said Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi has been invited to do the official launch of the union.

The union’s key objective is to professionalise the industry and to rid it of imposters who have managed to infiltrate it in a bid to push their purse masters’ bidding. He said the union will in due course host workshops to train journalists on media ethics. 

“Our people have long wanted to unionise. We are also happy that we have since managed to be allowed to address and recruit members at most of the media houses. Our main worry is that people tend to think that the union is for journalists, which is not correct. Every time we get a chance we explain to our colleagues that this is for everyone from the cleaner, receptionist, driver, technicians and commercial staff in the media. We are not in existence to fight the employer but to work hand in hand to improve the industry in all aspects that affect it,” said Mmeso.