Labour violations: Govt should walk the talk

| Wednesday June 20, 2012 00:00

This is not enough. Officialdom is fond of issuing threats and edicts that are barely followed, hence the need to match words with action. How many times have we seen or heard government people promising brimstone and vile fire to errant contractors only to realise that this was mere talk? We have heard ruminations about blacklisting contractors for failure to complete projects on time, poor workmanship, corruption and labour malpractices.  What we need is action and more action. The government should not be long on talk and short on delivery in dealing with contractors that give the industry a bad name. For we know that this lot has cost the country much-needed millions of Pula that can be used elsewhere to better the lives of the masses. We are with Kedikilwe in condemning not only contractors, but employers who are fond of violating workers' rights. We are happy that he has undertaken a personal undertaking to make sure that workers' rights are not violated again in the Dikgatlhong Dam project. 

If only, the government he serves is even-handed and sensitive to the working conditions of public servants. We know that accusations of violation of workers' rights are not restricted to the private sector or the construction industry. In recent years, the government and parastatals have been reeling under an onslaught from workers who feel that their rights have been violated. While the government's hiring system is not a problem, matters are different when it comes to remuneration. We wish that the zeal shown by Kedikilwe in dealing with labour violations in the construction industry spreads across government. It is a question of removing the log in your eye before seeing the speck in the other person's vision. Otherwise, his drive to enforce labour law in the construction sector, specifically in the Dikgatlhong Dam project is good news. This is despite the fact he is reported to have implied that we are still a long way in seeing firms being blacklisted for labour malpractices. It would be a good thing if the government eventually fulfills its threat to blacklist firms and bar them from tendering for projects. When this happens, a system should be put in place to avoid the same blacklisted contractors changing companies and winning tenders. We hear this is what has been going on in sectors, which have blacklisted certain businesspeople.

Such black sheep are known to perform a chameleon act by forming front companies through which they win tenders or switch locations say from Gaborone to Francistown to reap rich irregularly.

                         Today's thought

'Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going'

         - American author, Jim Rohn, 1930-2009