PALAPYE: Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) has pleaded with the government to intervene and ensure that there are no retrenchments in some of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

The union believes that the intervention is critical and necessary because the local economy is struggling to create more jobs and retrenchments can worsen the joblessness rate.

The rate of unemployment averaged 17.7% in 2021, something which various stakeholders say is very worrying. The youth constitute 62% of the unemployed. The figures show that unemployment hovers around 26% for people aged 18 and above. Last week reports emerged that one of the country’s leading parastatals Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) will shed 200 jobs this month.

It has been widely speculated that some parastatals will soon follow suit as part of executing the merger and rationalisation process that came as a recommendation by government. Fears of possible retrenchments in parastatals were further compounded by Trade and Industry minister Mmusi Kgafela recently, when he said employees should prepare for possible job losses because of the merger and rationalisation. The ministry will be left with five parastatals out of the current 11 when the rationalisation exercise is complete in about two years.

“We are deeply worried by the looming massive retrenchments in parastatals. Just yesterday, we learnt of the looming retrenchments at Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) and other parastatals. We call upon the

government to take decisive and deliberate action and intervene to save jobs that are on the line,” BOPEU president Masego Mogwera said this week when addressing delegates at the union’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in Palapye.

BOPEU’s position is that the retrenchments are not sincere because the working class suffered the worst at the height of the pandemic.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, we cannot sacrifice the working class and throw them under the bus with retrenchments. In our respective view, retrenching workers immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic is insensitive.

Workers have put their lives on the line and provided public services to the nation at a time when humanity was facing an existential threat,” Mogwera stated.

Mogwera said halting the retrenchments will be one way of honouring and recognising the workers for their gallant sacrifices and efforts during the pandemic.

“Let us put workers before profits, not profits before workers. BOPEU condemns the looming retrenchments in parastatals. We call on parastatals to comply with all labour legislation during the merging and rationalisation exercise. Workers rights are human rights,” a visibly concerned Mogwera said. Speaking at the CEC, BOPEU first vice president Mothusi Mojela called on the government to consider absorbing some of the employees from parastatals in the public service to mitigate against job losses.

The government has reconfigured ministries a development that meant that some ministries have been introduced while other ministries have been merged and renamed. As a result, there have also been fears that the development might lead to job losses something which Mogwera emphasised that must be avoided at all costs.

“Government should ensure that the transition is seamless and does not affect service delivery. Most notable the rationalisation of ministries should not lead to job losses if properly executed.

We call on government to prioritise consultation with the unions to ensure that the process is transparent and beyond reproach.”

Emma Peloetletse, the Permanent Secretary to the President explained that the reorganisation of the state owned enterprises (SOEs) or parastatals was necessitated by the need to improve efficiency of service delivery. She explained that the government’s priority is to protect jobs in SOEs government ministries during the execution of the rationalisation process. She however, highlighted that some of the parastatals are entirely independent and have varying goals.

This she said, made it difficult for them to intervene on their operations especially curbing retrenchments. She went on to explain that the government will ensure that rationalisation in ministries does not lead to job losses.