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 • Their pensions to be reduced and taxed
• Retirement at 45 to be re-introduced in new Public Service Act
Civil servants who were recently forcibly retired from their government jobs stand to lose thousands of Pula because
they were dismissed under a provision of the old law that allows the government to retire its employees at age 45.
The last Parliament passed a new Public Service Act that does not contain this provision; but it has not yet come into force. It is understood that the government intends to amend the new Act to bring back retirement at 45 without consulting public service trade unions.
During the past couple of weeks 25 people have been forcibly retired from three government departments - 15 from the Department of Building and Engineering Services, four from the Department of Immigration and six from the Central Transport Organisation; most were middle managers. The Gazette is reliably informed that a senior Immigration official fainted upon receiving the letter sacking him.
The secretary general of the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU), Mr. Mbakiso Magola said government was abusing the old retirement at 45, provision.
“The new Public Service Act does not have the equivalent of the old Section 15:3 that empowers the employer to retire an employee at age 45. This Section had been abused and that is why we advocated that it should not to be included in the new Act,” said Magola.
Early retirees face double jeopardy because according to the Pensions and Provident Act, an employee has to be over 50 to get his full pension. Those who retire under Section 15:3 will have their pension taxed; they are required to write a letter to the employer indicating that they withdraw from the Pension Fund. Instead of getting a third of their accumulated pension tax free, they will only get a quarter, which will be taxed. Furthermore they will not get any monthly pension.
Magola said government should waive this provision so that, “the retirees can afford a little bit of dignity.”
Speaking in an interview with The Gazette he described the forced retirements as, “careless because there is no basis to suggest that these people are being retired because they do not qualify for either the voluntary or involuntary retirement package.” He said to show that these were not retirements but dismissals, some employees were told that they would be paid money in lieu of notice.
Magola said they want answers why people are being dismissed from work at “such an alarming rate”.
“It is painful to notice that there is no evidence to suggest that these people have not been performing; rather their continuous assessment indicates that they have been brilliant at what they do. This means that the assessment tools are flawed,” he observed.
He said they had been inundated with requests from members seeking urgent advice. “We believe that the government is conducting a systematic retrenchment exercise; they must be open about it so that they do not cheat employees. The talk that they are retiring people is just eyewash,” he said.
Magola said the unions had negotiated an Early Exit Package – which government agreed to last year - for people who would be retired early, “but all those who have so far been retired have not got it. As they were not given reasons why they are being retired, they should at least be consoled with the Early Exit package,” he said.
He said the sackings explain why government has delayed the implementation of the new Public Service Act, which was expected to come into force on April 1st 2008.
The Union is meeting the Permanent Secretary to the President, Mr. Eric Molale this week to ask him to explain the mass ’forced retirements’.
Public service unions were part of a steering committee that drafted the new Public Service Act but they have learnt that the Act, copies of which are already on sale at the Government Printers, will soon be amended to include the old Section 15:3, which gives government the right to retire employees at 45. “Why are they selling it if it will never see the light of day?” asked Magola.
The BOPEU secretary general observed that all the retirees will become a burden to the economy and the State will have to provide for them.
“If people live in fear of lack of job security, they will not deliver to their best of ability.” He said his union had impressed upon the government the need to find the root cause of why people do not perform to the best of their abilities. “We should avoid dealing with symptoms only,” he said.
“A number of factors could lead to an underperforming workforce – a poor working environment, lack of training and technology, and low pay.” Magola also observed that people are frequently misplaced in the public service and this could also lead to poor service delivery. Misplaced human resources should be blamed on the employer, he said.
According to Magola, dismissing people is not a solution, rather alternatives should be sought to ensure that people deliver optimally.
He pointed out that many African countries are experiencing high levels of crime because of “carelessness by the authorities whereby they dismiss people from work willy-nilly without due care.” He said people who have been dismissed might resort to using anti-social means to earn money.
Magola called on public service unions to unite.
“We must put aside our differences and unite in this cause. Things are not in order, this is common interest and we must re-think our strategy as unions,” he said. BY AUBREY LUTE
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