The Director of the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) Gaone Macholo is in trouble after Botswana’s largest public sector workers’ federation accused her of attempting to unilaterally restructure the public service without consulting trade unions or following the law.
In a statement issued this week the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) described the exercise as an “illegal” and “reckless” attempt to retrench public servants through the back door under the guise of public service reforms.
The federation’s Secretary General, Robert Ronny Rabasimane, alleged that Macholo had acted alone in introducing a Voluntary Retirement Package without engaging trade unions, despite legal provisions requiring consultation before any restructuring or retrenchment exercise.
“Today, she has published a document inviting employees in the public sector to participate in a Voluntary Retirement Package,” Rabasimane said.
“We outrightly reject and condemn this reckless, unilateral attack on the public service disguised as public service reforms. This is not reform. It is treacherous retrenchment by stealth.”
BOFEPUSU argues that the restructuring exercise contravenes Section 25 of the Employment Act as well as provisions of the new Employment and Labour Relations Act, which require employers to notify the Director of Labour and consult recognised trade unions before implementing restructuring or retrenchment programmes.
BOFEPUSU argues that the restructuring exercise contravenes Section 25 of the Employment Act as well as provisions of the new Employment and Labour Relations Act, which require employers to notify the Director of Labour and consult recognised trade unions before implementing restructuring or retrenchment programmes.
According to the federation, no such consultations have taken place.
“No public servant of the stature and seniority of the DPSM Director may imagine embarking on such a course without complying with the relevant statutes,” the statement reads.
The union questioned whether the initiative had even received Cabinet approval or whether it was a unilateral decision by the DPSM Director.
BOFEPUSU’s concerns is a document titled Leadership Transformation Programme, which outlines a proposed voluntary separation scheme targeting public officers on salary scale E2 and above, aged between 45 and 60 years.
The federation says the proposal lacks clarity over its objectives and legal basis.
According to BOFEPUSU, the document does not specify whether the exercise is intended to address poor performance, redundancy, organisational restructuring or downsizing.
It further questioned what would happen to vacancies created through the programme, asking whether affected posts would be abolished permanently or filled later.
The union also raised concerns about how the departure of senior officers would affect reporting structures, supervision and the implementation of government policies across ministries.
BOFEPUSU also questioned why the document states that meeting eligibility requirements does not automatically guarantee approval for voluntary separation.
The federation wants DPSM to disclose the criteria that will be used to determine who is allowed to leave government service.
“If this is about performance, what happens if those targeted simply choose not to apply?” the union asked.
The federation further questioned whether government has budgeted for what it described as potentially significant separation costs, including severance packages, relocation expenses, notice pay and settlement of loans, mortgages and training obligations.
BOFEPUSU demanded that DPSM immediately halt the voluntary separation programme, rescind the decision and engage trade unions in accordance with the law before pursuing any restructuring of the public service.
With government having repeatedly cited financial constraints, BOFEPUSU said it was difficult to understand how such a programme would be funded.
The federation warned that it would oppose the restructuring through every available legal avenue if government proceeds without consultation.
“You are provoking a confrontation you cannot win,” Rabasimane warned adding that “You cannot restructure livelihoods by decree and expect silence.”
BOFEPUSU demanded that DPSM immediately halt the voluntary separation programme, rescind the decision and engage trade unions in accordance with the law before pursuing any restructuring of the public service.
The federation also argued that the exercise violates international labour standards, including ILO Convention 144 on tripartite consultation.
“We will not watch while career opportunists run the public service like a backyard escapade where there’s no public accountability and adherence to law,” Rabasimane said.
Efforts to obtain comment from DPSM Director Gaone Macholo were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
