MASERU — Workers at Sky Country Pty (Ltd), a meat wholesale in the Pitso ground area boycotted work last Saturday morning to protest against what they said were poor working conditions at the company.
The workers accuse their employer who they say they knew only as Chen of deliberately breaking the law by paying wages below those approved by the government.
They say according to the Lesotho Government Gazette, 2008-2009, retail workers have to be paid M990 but he pays them only M900.
They say they only get M2 if they work overtime.
The workers also alleged that if they take time off to visit a doctor after being injured at work Chen will deduct their salaries.
They also accused Chen of deducting 14 percent interest on all advance payments from their salaries.
“This is not good, he has to be responsible for the expenses when we get hurt at work,” the workers said.
They also said their employer had refused to pay medical expenses for a worker who was injured by a meat saw last week.
“An employee was injured last week on Wednesday and he was given M100 by the employer to pay for the medication.”
“He was told that it will be subtracted from his salary plus 14 percent interest,” Lentsoe La Sechaba Workers Union Assistant Secretary, Motšoari Mokhachane said.
The injured employee refused to be named saying he feared losing his job.
The workers said they boycotted work on Saturday to force Chen to agree to a meeting with them.
Some of the workers said he came to them and said they should have a meeting on Monday with Lentsoe La Sechaba Workers Union.
One of the workers said they work under hostile conditions.
“People’s lives are not safe,” she said.
He said some of the workers had not signed a contract with the company.
Mokhachane said the union had tried to talk to him but he does not want to attend the meetings.
“We have tried to build a cordial relationship between him and the workers, but we have failed,” Mokhachane said.
He said after he had agreed to a meeting the union told the workers to go back to work.
Mokhachane said Chen had also fired seven workers.
Chen also failed to attend the Monday meeting.
Speaking to the Lesotho Times this week Chen denied ever agreeing to attend the meeting.
“My interpreter was supposed to attend, not myself,” he said.
Chen said he was surprised when the workers did not report for work.
“We open at 7 o’clock in the morning, but they were all absent,” he said.
He said he did not fire any workers.
“I wanted to fire them, but I did not. I was surprised when I heard that they are absent because they have got complaints against me,” Chen said.
“I do not know what my staff wants,” he said.
