DIAMOND STORM

Tensions are mounting at the Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), with workers accusing management of failing to meaningfully engage them on a range of workplace concerns.The dispute follows what the Botswana Diamond Workers Union (BDWU) describes as an eight-month pattern of poor communication and bad-faith conduct by management since the union was formally recognised in November 2025.According to documents seen by The Midweek Sun, workers are increasingly frustrated by management’s alleged reluctance to respond to grievances and follow-up questions with the union, saying the latest concern involves the relocation of staff to a new office in Block 8, Gaborone.They have even reported this to the Commissioner of Labour, alleging that employees are yet to be properly familiarised with the new premises despite some workers already there; they say the facility is of a high-security, biometrically controlled environment.Workers complain that they have not been adequately briefed on first-aid arrangements, emergency override procedures and other safety measures required during emergencies.The union has also questioned whether a proper hazard identification and risk assessment has been conducted, as well as whether certified indoor air quality testing has been carried out.Meanwhile, BDWU says it has written numerous letters to management raising various concerns, but alleged that some correspondence had gone unanswered, while follow-up questions on matters that did receive responses were subsequently ignored.BDWU says ODC employees have gone three consecutive years without a salary increment and approximately four years without a performance bonus yet its cost-of-living adjustment proposal, submitted in April this year with supporting information, had still not received a written response.BDWU says that a Collective Labour Agreement between the parties has been substantively agreed but management has yet to issue the final draft or commit to a signing date.The union also accuses management of bypassing it in the early stages of a planned retrenchment process, alleging that ODC engaged the Commissioner of Labour and an external consultant before consulting the recognised workers’ representative.BDWU argues that while each dispute could individually be viewed as an oversight, the accumulation of unresolved matters represents a broader pattern of strained relations.This is particularly concerning for the union given that ODC operated for more than a decade without a recognised workers’ representative body before BDWU’s recognition in November 2025.For their part, ODC said the matters have already been formally referred by BDWU to the Commissioner of Labour and the Department of Occupational Health and Safety for consideration and resolution and they are participating in the process and committed to addressing the issues in appropriate forums."In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for ODC to provide substantive responses to the allegations and issues raised in your questionnaire while the same matters are pending before the relevant statutory authorities.Any public comment by ODC Management on matters that BDWU has elected to refer for determination may reasonably be perceived as an attempt to circumvent, undermine, influence, or pre-empt the very processes that the Union has invoked for their resolution," they said.

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DIAMOND STORM