Mathatisi Sebusi
DEPUTY Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara has told parliament the government is ready to negotiate an end to the three-week strike of health workers in remote areas who are demanding an increase in their hardship allowances.
Ms Majara told legislators the government would address the grievances of the health workers who want their hardship allowances increased from M250 to at least M1000.
The workers had initially demanded M5000 but later agreed to M1000 after negotiations with the Ministries of Health and Public Service.
Health workers posted across Lesotho’s highlands districts of Mokhotlong, Qacha’s Nek and Thaba- Tseka and other hard-to-reach areas in the country have been on strike for three weeks now, paralysing health services in these areas.
Ms Majara said the gravity of the strike required government to meet with the health workers to address their grievances. It would thus meet with them this week, she said, without specifying a day.
Ms Majara said the ministries of finance, public service and health, had met earlier this week and agreed on three proposals they would put before the health workers. She did not specify the proposals. She however said they had taken into account the country’s parlous financial position.
Ms Majara spoke after main opposition Democratic Congress (DC) Qacha’s Nek constituency legislator, Mohlahlobi Busa, had demanded an update from government after its earlier promise to resolve the strike.
“The government must address this issue before it escalates. We are talking about lives of people who are in danger. This issue must be dealt with urgently. It must not be ignored just because it is not happening in Maseru,” Mr Busa said.
Meanwhile the health workers are planning to embark on a peaceful march to attract the international community’s attention to their plight. Their spokesperson, Tanki Rantimo, said for the three weeks that they had been on strike the government had neither demonstrated any interest to address their grievances nor pronounce its position on the strike. The Ministry of Public Service had instead threatened to withhold their salaries if they continued to strike.
Mr Ranthimo said they had decided to embark on a peaceful march to draw the attention of Lesotho’s development partners to their grievances.
