Court Blocks Restructuring at Statistics Botswana

Industrial Court nullifies redeployment of employees BOPEU acted against unilateral redeployment Cash-strapped parastatal could lose millions in other settlements The Industrial Court of Gaborone has blocked attempts by Statistics Botswana (SB) to redeploy staff in new positions not aligned to their job descriptions and qualifications. Accordingly, The Business Weekly & Review is informed that Statistics Botswana has since complied with the court order and halted the redeployment. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="4,3,2,1" ihc_mb_template="1" ] Justice Diratsagae Molomo recently ruled in favour Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) that took the matter to court on behalf of the affected employees after the employees notified the union that Statistics Botswana may be effecting secretive restructuring and that there had been no consultations. Sources say the redeployment exercise was to be used as pilot scheme. “The intention was to do the restructuring overnight,” said one source. “Management has denied that it was restructuring but indications were clear that their intention was to cut jobs if the court had not intervened.” The Business Weekly and Review is informed that BOPEU had applied pressure on Statistics Botswana to stop the redeployment that it considered secretive, unilateral and illegal but Statistics Botswana proceeded to issue letters to inform staff of the redeployment. “Statistics Botswana hereby agrees to withdraw the redeployment letters issued to BOPEU members with immediate effect,” Justice Molomo intoned in his judgment. He added that letters of withdrawal would be delivered to the affected employees and copied to BOPEU. “The affected employees shall revert to their positions in the existing organisational structure,” said the judge. “Each party shall bear its own costs.” Statistics Botswana have since complied with the Industrial Court order and halted the redeployment. This publication is in possession of letters authored by Statistician General, Dr Burton Mguni, informing the affected employees that they should return to their normal employment positions. One of the letters penned by Dr Mguni to the affected staff member dated 30 th November 2022 reads “You are hereby informed that the decision to do redeploy you has since been rescinded,” reads one such letter. “Accordingly, you remain your position.” Grappling with huge budgetary constraints, the national statistics agency is reportedly under pressure to trim its staff down in order to reduce costs. The parastatal has a considerable amount of money in legal battles against staff. Justice Zein Kebonang of the Gaborone High Court recently ruled in favour of BOPEU in a matter in which Statistics Botswana staff were challenging the organisation to correct disparities in salaries. With this the matter having been protracted since 2016, it is believed that Statistics Botswana will fork out millions in back pays to affected employees. Upon adoption of new pay structure by Statistics Botswana in 2012, some of its employees in supervisory roles found themselves in salary bands lower than their juniors and accordingly earning less than their juniors. [/ihc-hide-content]

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Court Blocks Restructuring at Statistics Botswana

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