The Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) has rejected a proposal by Khoemacau Copper Mine (KCM) to declare a dispute over salary talks saying the mine is negotiating “in bad faith.”
This is according to a copy of the minutes of the salary talks of the two parties. According to the minutes, the union argued that increasing salaries for non-union members while negotiatiions were on going amounts to bad faith. The union said such a decision confirms that management tempered with the Joint Negotiation Consultation Committee (JNCC) forum. The union wanted to be furnished with information on salaries as they had requested. The union noted that what the management team “has put on the table was an insult considering that even government gave employees 22 percent.”
For its part, KCM management stated that they are open for negotiation, but said information on salary disclosed to the union was sufficient in the negotiations. The management stated that to “show their commitment to the negotiations they moved from 2.7 percent to 3 percent of basic salary which translates to 3.7 percent of the wage bill.”
In response, the union expressed their disappointment with management and said it pretends not to know anything about the 7 percent salary increment given to non-union employees.
They said they did not trust management anymore and it would be difficult to continue negotiating with them. The union stated that the parties would never reach consensus unless the Chief Executive Officer attended the next meeting. Management indicated that the Chief Executive Officer would not be called in as the management team was capable of closing the negotiations in line with the mandate given.
The KCM management reminded the union that they had said “if management could not move to 7 percent, the union will not negotiate.”
The chairperson of the management’s negotiating team, according to the minutes, indicated that the union was also not entirely happy with information that management provided on the wage bill. He reiterated that the 7 percent being demanded by the union was above management’s mandate. He said as management they have made movements and thus it is difficult for them to make any further movement without the union returning the favour.
The chairperson said that, in the spirit of negotiation, he has decided to lay his cards on the table to help expedite the process. He stated that management has decided to move to 4 percent of the basic salary, which brings management’s overall offer to 4.8 percent of the total wage bill when all other previously offered allowances are considered. He added that if the union insists on 7 percent, he would have no choice but to proceed with the deadlock process as prescribed by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOA).
The union party said its position has not changed in all the items. It said this is so because management has failed to move to 7 percent which they alleged was offered to non- bargaining employee by the company. The union said by doing so, management has created a segregation between the employees something which the union cannot condone. The union said management left them on the negotiating table and went ahead to increase the salaries of non-bargaining unit. They said the 7 percent shows the mandate of the company and hence the Union cannot negotiate anything lower than 7 percent. In their view, management’s move is negotiating in bad faith and to undermine the union.
The union stated that by refusing to disclose information, management was violating the law. They mentioned that when they were with MMG, the Chinese company that owns KCM, they were informed that MMG would comply with all laws. They said the refusal to provide information is a clear sign that MMG is also entertaining the violation of Botswana laws.
The union said they couldn’t understand why the company was refusing to disclose salary information when MMG executive salaries are on the website. This according to the union is a sign that KCM has something to hide. They said the company keeps on referring to 4.8 percent as a total of wage bill. They said they don’t understand which wage bill because management has not given any wage bill. The union said this refusal with necessary information on salaries was inhibiting the union to negotiate. They said the 4 percent that the company offered is an insult and an exploitation of employees.
Management said it had considered that the parties would not reach an agreement due to the lack of movement from the union. It said the union keeps on repeating the same thing that unless management moves to 7 percent then the union will not negotiate. Therefore, management said parties should follow the signed MOA and in line with section 12.1.3 wherein it is stated that if there is further disagreement the parties should write a joined statement.
The union interjected that it was within management’s right to follow the MOA and declare a dispute, but the union will not be dragged into a dispute by management’s unlawfulness in the negotiation. The union said they would write to MMG and inform them about their displeasure because MMG are the rightful party to negotiate with. They said KCM has violated the very MOA that they now say they wanted to follow, by offering non-bargaining unit employees’ salaries whilst the parties were still at negotiating table which is a violation of the MOA and thus the union cannot sign any joint statement. The meeting came to an end with management stating that they would write the joint statement whilst the union maintained that they would not sign the joint statement.
