Trade unions have to operate in a harsh legal environment. The Registrar can deny union registration in the absence of some formal requirement, and there is no procedure for rectifying the deficiencies, resulting in the automatic dissolution and banning of the activities of the organisation. Employers can also petition the Commissioner of Labour to withdraw union recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. . The Trade Disputes Act empowers the Labour Minister to determine the conditions for union membership, and allows the Minister to inspect the financial affairs of a union at any time.
Although unions have the right to bargain collectively both in the private and public sector, to do so they must represent a significant proportion of the workforce.
Finally, it is virtually impossible to call a legal strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
: workers must follow complex arbitration
arbitration
A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.
See conciliation, mediation
and mediation
mediation
A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration, in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.
See arbitration, conciliation
procedures, and disputes are eventually referred to the Industrial Court, which comprises Ministry of Labour officials. The Commissioner must also establish that an industrial dispute
industrial dispute
A conflict between workers and employers concerning conditions of work or terms of employment. May result in industrial action.
exists before strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action can be initiated.
On 25 March the High Court of Botswana finally dismissed the application of Japhta Radibe for unlawful, unfair and wrongful dismissal. Radibe was forced into retirement on 24 October 2007, although he was only 49 years old. This act effectively ended his leadership of the union, which he used to strongly defend teachers’ welfare and publicly criticise government education policies such as privatisation and the re-introduction of school fees. Mr. Rabibe sought reinstatement and compensation but his case had been repeatedly delayed without justification.
The Botswana Teachers’ Union (BTU) discovered that the Director of Teaching Service Management had also identified 14 heads of secondary schools that have been intimidated because of their involvement in trade union activities.