26th April 2022
Own Correspondent
The Botswana Mineworkers Union(BMU) has called for the development of a Mines Health and Safety Act that would include a mandatory legacy fund for current and future mineworkers and their families as well as the inclusion of the union in the Mining sector High level Consultative Forum.
It has also expressed alarm over the acquisition of the mine by 4 former managers and registered an objection on the 28th March 2022, which was rejected by the Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) on the basis that it could be best addressed by the line Ministry.
“Government has failed to enforce legal requirements for mine companies to set aside funds in preparation for insolvency or the closure of their operations. The devastating impact of the sudden closure in 2016 of the Government owned BCL Mine in Selibi Phikwe and the Tati nickel mine near Francistown vividly illustrates the social, economic and health consequences of this failure,” said Joseph Tsimako, President of the Botswana Mineworkers Union.
He said, “The sudden closure of in 2016 of the Government owned BCL copper mine in Selibi Phikwe and The Tati nickel mine near Francistown left more than 5,000 people unemployed and has led top anxiety and depression among ex miners and their families. These conditions have also likely led to the suicides of BCL ex miners.”
BMU revealed that an employer is compelled to recognize a trade union once it has met the one third threshold. Refusal to allow employees to join a union can only be done through a court order after proving that the trade union does not meet the threshold.
Makoro Bricks, Tiles and De Wett Drilling and Panda Quarries have been violating labour laws in Botswana for the past two decades.
THE BMU maintained that the terms and conditions of employment differed with each mining company the union concludes a collective labour agreement with. Due to the lack of uniformity, the union is embattled with unending litigation. There are no uniform standards at the industry level that are negotiated and applicable to all mining companies.
BMU has proposed a mining industry bargaining council that can set minimum industry standards.
The right to health in the mining sector is elusive. The Mines, Quarries Works and Machinery Act apparently focuses more on safety than regulations in the mines.
“Despite the regulations giving the Mining Engineer to set the occupational exposure limit to silicosis, Botswana does not seem to have one for gold mining operations,” said Tsimako.
He said, “Workers exposed to silica dust must be under occupational medical surveillance programs. This includes lung function tests, chest X ray and respirator fit testing for their respirators.”
Section 5 of the Mines Quarries Works and Machinery is mandated to advise the Minister on how to regulate safety and health in mining. The committee has been defunct since 1997.
