Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Botswana (Ratification: 1997)

The Committee notes the Government’s report. The Committee further notes the comments submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), in a communication dated 28 August 2007, that refer mainly to matters previously raised by the Committee and to allegations of ongoing violations of trade union rights, primarily in the mining sector, including the mass dismissals of strikers. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations respecting the ITUC’s comments, as well as those of the ICFTU contained in its previous comment.

The Committee recalls that it had previously requested the Government to:

–           amend section 2(1)(iv) of the Trade Union and Employers’ Organizations (TUEO) (Amendments) Act, 2003 and section 2(11)(iv) of the Trade Disputes Act, both of which deny employees of the prison service the right to organize, as well as section 35 of the Prisons Act – which similarly prohibits prison officers from becoming members of a trade union or any body affiliated to a trade union;

–           amend section 48B(1) of the TUEO Act, which grants certain facilities (access to an employer’s premises for purposes of recruiting members, holding meetings or representing workers; the deduction of trade union dues from employees’ wages, recognition by employers of trade union representatives in respect of grievances, discipline, and termination of employment) only to unions representing at least one third of the employees in an enterprise;

–           amend section 10 of the TUEO Act, so as to afford industrial organizations the opportunity to rectify the absence of some of the formal registration requirements provided for in that section, and to repeal sections 11 and 15, which result in the automatic dissolution and banning of activities of non-registered organizations;

–           amend sections 9(1)(b), 13 and 14 of the Trade Disputes Act, which empower the Commissioner and the Minister to refer a dispute in essential services to arbitration, or to the Industrial Court for determination; and to amend the list of essential services specified in the Schedule of the Trade Disputes Act, which includes, among others, the Bank of Botswana, railway services, and the transport and telecommunications services necessary to the operation of all of these services.

In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has taken note of its comments, and that consultations with the social partners on the legal provisions referred to therein are ongoing. Recalling that consultations with the social partners with regard to legislative amendments had commenced last year, the Committee requests the Government to indicate, in its next report, the progress made with respect to the points previously raised.

Finally, the Committee recalls that it had previously asked the Government to amend the following sections of the TUEO Act, so as to ensure that trade unions enjoy autonomy and financial independence from the authorities: section 43, providing for the inspection of accounts, books and documents of a trade union by the Registrar “at any reasonable time”; and sections 49 and 50, providing for the inspection by the Minister “whenever he considers it necessary in the public interest” of the financial affairs of a trade union. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Minister’s power to inspect trade union finances under sections 49 and 50 of the TUEO Act is limited to exceptional circumstances in order to investigate a complaint by members of the union or allegations of embezzlement. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of sections 49 and 50 of the TUEO Act, including the frequency with which these sections are invoked to inspect trade union finances. Recalling, moreover, that the control by the public authorities over trade union finances should, except when exercised on the basis of a complaint from a certain percentage of workers, normally not exceed the obligation to submit periodic reports, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the measures necessary to amend section 43 of the TUEO Act.