Trade Unions in Botswana operate within a longstanding democratic system in which the government of Botswana has ratified the International Labour Organization's core conventions, including Conventions 87 (Freedom of Association) and 98 (Right to Organize).
[3] The 2004 Trade Disputes Act is seen by unions as "employer-favoured"[4] and requires submitting grievances to a complex procedure which, it is claimed, invariably results in strike action being declared illegal.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate Union, led by Lenyeletse Seretse, was formed in 1959, and in 1962 the Bechuanaland Trade Union Congress (BTUC) was established, with Klaas K. Motshidisi as general secretary.
The BTUC, which was allied with the Bechuanaland People's Party, foundered three years later, in 1965; and after independence in 1966, with the help of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (now ITUC), trade unions in Botswana formed the Bechuanaland Federation of Labour (BFL).
[5][7] The government of Botswana appears to take a pragmatic approach to trade unions, arguing that they should be formed in order to encourage fair labour practices, facilitate the education of workers, and reduce conflicts between individual employees and employers.