Lesotho - Covid ravages textile jobs

MAPUTSOE – HORDES of women crowd together at the gates of some Chinese-owned textile factories at the Maputsoe Industrial Estate.
The risk of contracting Covid-19 takes less precedence than the dim hope of getting a job at one of these factories some of which are also owned by Indians.

Even as the world fights a fourth wave of the pandemic driven by the omicron variant and countries such as Lesotho intensify messages of prevention measures such as social distancing and wearing of masks, the daily crowding routine at the Maputsoe Industrial Estate reveal a different kind of concern.

“All I want is a job,” said one woman, saying she had spent years without securing a job. The pandemic made her search for a job even more difficult as companies closed down and unemployment skyrocketed.
Many of the women at the industrial estate said they had trekked from remote districts to try their luck in Maputsoe.

Some play card games at the gates. Others hurdle in small groups and share their miseries while chatting the day away.
Many said they had a form of educational qualification, but seeking work as factory workers had become their only option because they can't get their preferred jobs.

Even for those lucky to get hired, life remains a misery hence the common saying:“Lifemeng ha se ha bo motho”, that loosely translated means,“working in the factories is not a comfort zone.”
“The hardships that we have to endure are immense,” said Makhojane Molete*, a factory worker.

The 22-year-old from Pitseng was one of the few fortunate enough to secure a job, but the joy barely lasted a week.
“Working in the factories is difficult,” she said.
Although I was happy to get a job, life as a factory worker is just unbearable. Supervisors make our lives hell, they make you work like slaves” she lamented.

Complaining about the poor working conditions could be a ticket to dismissal so many choose to suffer in silence, she said.
“You cannot bear the harsh words from the employers there,” she said, who, like many workers, has lost hope of getting support from labour unions.

“The trade unions are merely enjoying the money we pay to become members but they are not really committed to fighting for us,” she said, noting low salaries as a major sore point.
The government bumped up the minimum wage for factory workers by 14 percent in June last year, a figure that was much higher than the six percent the employers had demanded.

The lowest earner in the textile industry was getting about M1 900 per month while some earned around M2 500. A 14 percent hike would take the two groups to M2 166 and M2 850 respectively.
“The salary is too low for my basic needs at home. These include school fees for my children,” 'Malehlohonolo Koatla, a 41-year old factory worker, said.
Koatla said factory workers can only afford to rent single rooms to put a mattress, a few blankets, a bucket of water, washing basins and a small stove.

Teboho Leluka, an organiser at the National Clothing and Textile and Allied Workers Union (NACTWU), said salary increases are usually handled by the Wages Board working together with the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Leluka said negotiations for salary increases usually take a long time because of disagreements.

Tšepo Mpenyane

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