Botswana: Casino workers accuse manager of abuse
FRANCISTOWN: About 12 employees of the Thapama Admiral Slots Casino yesterday refused to go to work because they feared their manager. The employees who assembled in the library at the Francistown-East constituency office on Monday say the manager harasses and generally abuses them. They went to the constituency office to seek help “because we could not get help from the District Labour Office as we were tossed around”.
“Insults and threats are the order of the day at the work place and we can be pushed around for nothing. Our conditions of service are not better than those of the slaves,” declared the workers, a majority of whom were women. They say their manager uses vulgar language and unprintables when addressing them.
They said they could be demoted and fired for no valid reason. “We are not free even to ask anything related to work. We are not even allowed to go for lunch and visit the rest rooms”.
They further claimed that one of them suffered an embarrassment when the “boss” opened the toilet and ordered her to return to work whilst she was relieving herself. They said when they are sick, they are not allowed to visit the clinic. When they go for treatment they are deemed to have absconded from work. “A medical sick-off is of no force and effect at the work place as the work has to go on regardless of one’s state of health,” they said in a letter.
They told the Francistown East constituency administrator, Anthony Chebane that they have not been given any salary increment and they fear to ask because they might be sacked.
“Our contracts indicate that we are paid bonuses, holidays but none has been put into effect. Even overtime is not paid for,” they claimed.
One of the workers, Lawrence Gontse claimed that he was assaulted by the manager Ian Saunders. “He actually beat me up in front of other staff members in a meeting that he had called at the work place.
“I could not understand the language he used as he spoke Afrikaans at the time”. Casino workers indicated that Saunders seemed to be having a field day and he is happy that Botswana labour laws were very loose. “He is not even afraid of Botswana labour laws as he said Botswana laws are useless and there is no one who can take him out of the country.
He told us that he is still going to abuse Batswana because they are stupid,” the workers’ letter said.
Commenting on this incident, an official of the Admiral Casino from the head office in Johannesburg, Walter Coulson said: “There is a problem at the casino and we are still investigating and once we get to the bottom of the matter we will reach your office”.
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