When employers face Robert Rabasimane over matters concerning their employees, they will have to come extra prepared and act with caution. They shall now be up against a workers’ rights campaigner who is not only driven by passion but is well armed with a law degree. He was admitted as a practising attorney at Gaborone High Court by Justice Gabanagae on Tuesday after completing a Law degree with the University of South Africa (UNISA) and later passing Botswana’s Bar Examinations. As the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Amalgamated Local, Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union, Rabasimane is the Chief Negotiator for the Union in salaries negotiations including against DPSM for public officers. He equally holds the role when engaged various parastatals that house their members. The law degree comes in handy to help him navigate the often tight, draining and difficult negotiations.
BACKGROUND
Those who know Rabasimane from a young age never stop raving about how driven he has always been. When things didn’t seem to go his way, he persevered and gallantly found a path. His love for the stage took shape from a young age. He joined a drama club and excelled in stirring performances, which earned him respect among peers as his confidence soared. This is why his whole professional life has been about service, engagement and leadership. After finishing his high school, he applied to do LLB at the University of Botswana but was admitted for Social Work. He was more drawn to Child welfare work and avidly remembers drafting orders for protection of children under duress circumstances after assuming his work.
WHY LAW
He reminisces about his UB days with a tinge of pride. “I enjoyed the programme very much and remember taking Family Law module, which at the time was offered by Advocate Duma Boko,” says Rabasimane. As he continued with his work, he realised the essence and importance of law as a subject that enabled one to handle legal matters well, including creating contracts and handling employees’ disputes. “I realised that everything that I dealt with in my work had some legal aspect and that increased the necessity of me improving my understanding of law,” he says. This ultimately forced him to enrol for diploma in Law with the Midland State University through correspondence from 2018 to 2020. He didn’t look back and proceeded to complete his LLB degree with the University of South Africa (UNISA). “I took this decision because as a grew as a leader I realised that there was more demand for one to understand legal aspects in negotiations and in the agreements that we signed,” he enthuses. Rabasimane has a long running involvement in the labour movementhaving started as an ordinary union member and climbing the charts to be a shop steward and until he landed at Vice President level.
PUBLIC SERVICE
However, as he climbed the corporate ladder it eventually became impossible for him to continue on the path of representing workers because he had been elevated into leadership of the organisations he was employed by. His long-term employer has been Local Government – starting off as a Social Welfare Officer in Moshupa (2004 to 2007); Principal Administration Officer at Mabutsane (2008 to 2009); Senior Human Resources Officer (2009 to 2010); Principal Human Resources Officer and later Assistant Manager – Human Resources in Serowe (2011 to 2012) before detouring to Botswana Railways where he served as Employee Relations Manager (2012 to 2013). He returned to Local Government a year later; taking over as Chief Human Resource and Administration Officer at Lobatse Town Council (2014 to 2015) before his elevation to the lofty position of Council Secretary at Goodhope District from 2015 to 2021.
TRADE UNIONISM
Rabasimane joined the Manual Workers Union in 2021 as an Executive Secretary before he was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer in 2022. It is here where he is continuing to make an impact – a role he doesn’t want to leave anytime soon. Among his achievements in agitating for the rights of his members is victory over minimum wage of Government Employees. When it proved that in negotiating with Government for annual increments they were too much apart from other unions, Rabasimane and his executive did not hesitate to go at it alone. Following the 2022 salary talks, the union secured an 8.8% adjustment via pyramid scheme that lifted A3 Scale salaries to P2500 while manual workers got a further 5% across board increment The union had also won Government’s agreement to implement a fan shaped salary structure that was to start in April 2023, to manage promotions in civil service as recommended by the PEMANDU consultants who had been engaged to evaluate government employees’ salaries. While this appears to have delayed, the Director of the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) recently announced that they will be rolling out the implementation of the system which is expected to address productivity and progression of public sector employees. At a press conference addressed with the Manual Workers Union leadership, Gaone Macholo – the Director of DPSM – promised to have the system rolled out next year – offering 25 notches in scales as opposed to the current 10 notches. Rabasimane and his union take credit for this achievement. Under his leadership, the Manual Workers Union this year made history when they sponsored political debates across the country ahead of the October General Elections. The highly listened to programme that Rabasimane hailed as very important in political education culminated with the Presidents of the contesting political parties also being given airtime to showcase their manifestos.
LEADING BOFEPUSU
At its Annual General Meeting last year Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) elected Rabasimane its Secretary General taking over from long serving Tobokani Rari. This has more than doubled his work, but it is a task that he is seemingly taking in his stride. The federation had in the 2014 General Elections fully endorsed the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in its campaign to take power. In the 2019 they did not endorse any party. This year – 2024 – Rabasimane’s leadership faced criticism for having been too quiet with Botswana Land Boards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union (BLLAHWU) in particular voicing its concern. His view on this matter was that they were aware that some of their members were politically inclined and might feel that way but they chose to be non-aligned or raise any alarm. At this stage, however, Rabasimane is highly excited about the new government since it offers workers benefits that they have long agitated for – the minimum wage which is now going to be raised to P4000. “We will meaningfully engage with the Government of the day over many issues that affect our members. We are happy that we share with them beliefs in some areas,” he charges.
THE FUTURE
“I got attracted to law because when I grew up, I saw my parents losing some of their assets because they had little understanding of the law and how to protect themselves and their goods. I chose this field so that I can render a hand in protecting those that are unfortunate,” he says. His work allows him to practice his law along side his formal work for the union. “I will continue working for the union and handling workers issues better with this qualification. My work also gives me a chance to do some of my legal work, including doing conveyancing and others. So, at this stage I do not intend to move and practice full time as an attorney,” he maintains. His law degree is in addition to a Masters in Commerce, BCom(hons), HRM, Diploma in Law, Diploma in Social Work, Diploma in Labour Relations, Advanced certificate in Negotiations Skills and Certificate of Proficiency in Long and Short-term Insurance.