The Free Trade Union Movement (FRETUM) is a platform created by the Trainers and Allied Workers Union (TAWU) and the Botswana Government Workers Union (BOGOWU). Launched in January 2025, FRETUM was founded to unite trade unions under a shared mission: protecting workers’ rights, strengthening solidarity, and holding institutions accountable.

Unlike a federation, FRETUM is a voluntary movement—a space where free and rights-minded unions can join forces to address challenges facing workers in Botswana and beyond. Its role is to coordinate responses to economic and labour issues, lobby for the ratification and domestication of international labour conventions, and ensure that no worker is left behind.