Botswana

Organization responsible for the statistics

The statistics are collected, compiled and published by the Department of Labour and Social Security.

Objectives and users

Not available.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover: Political strikes and rotating strikes are not included. Sympathetic strikes are prohibited by law.

Minimum threshold: None.

Economic activities

No particular branches of economic activity or sectors are excluded.

Workers

Workers directly involved only. As well as regular paid employees, the statistics cover temporary and casual workers, but not seasonal workers or unpaid family workers. Part-time workers are not included as this category of worker is not common. Workers absent on sick leave or annual leave are not included.

No particular occupational groups are excluded.

Geographic areas

Whole country.

Types of data collected

Concepts and definitions

Strike

The cessation of work by a body of employees in any trade or industry acting in combination or under a common understanding or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding by such a body of employees to continue to work.

Lockout

The closing of a place of employment by an employer in any trade or industry or the suspension of work by such an employer or the refusal by such an employer to continue to employ any number of his employees in that trade or industry.

Both definitions come from the Trade Dispute Act, no. 19 of 1982.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute.

A strike or lockout interrupted but which later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is regarded as a continuation of the same strike or lockout.

Work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute, occurring simultaneously in different establishments are counted as one. Those resulting from the same case of dispute, occurring in different establishments at different times are counted separately.

Economic units involved

The economic unit refers to the establishment, enterprise, firm or local workplace.

Workers involved

The number of workers involved is the highest number of workers involved on any one day of the strike or lockout.

Duration

It is measured in actual working days from the date on which the strike or lockout began in the first economic unit involved up to the date it terminated in the last one.

Time not worked

Total time not worked is measured in hours which should have been worked, by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the strike or lockout and summing these totals. Overtime is not taken into account.

Classifications

None.

Reference period and periodicity

The statistics are compiled and published for periods of one year. They relate to strikes and lockouts beginning during the particular reference period.

Analytical measures

None.

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentations

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Department of Labour and Social Security: Annual Report.

Data published by the ILO

The number of strikes and lockouts, the number of workers involved and the number of days not worked, by economic activity.

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

There is a legal obligation, applying to the party that has a grievance, i.e. either a trade union or an employer, to report the existence of a trade dispute, or that a trade dispute is apprehended, to the Labour Commissioner for mediation.