Bargaining in Bad Faith in the Botswana Public Service – A Review of the BOFEPUSU and BLLAHWU Judgments

Abstract

The BOFEPUSU and BLLAHWU judgments dealt with unilateral action on the
part of the government as employer, during the course of collective bargaining.
In both judgments, the Courts found the said unilateral action to amount to
bad faith bargaining with respect to unionized employees. The Courts however
found that the said unilateral action did not amount to bad faith bargaining
with respect to non-unionized employees.In this case note, it will be argued that
both decisions are wrong to the extent that they hold that the government can
unilaterally award non-unionized employees an increment when a forum for
bargaining in the public service exists.