The Critical Exposure of Lesotho’s Labor Law Effectiveness: Industrial Relations’ Calamity of Textile Industry Workers in Lesotho

Abstract

This article provides insights on tribulations of Lesotho textile industry workers and effectiveness-extent of national labor law in shielding labor rights. It is a qualitative and quantitative research premised on textile industrial areas of Thetsane and Railway Station area in Maseru city, Labor offices and workers/trade unions. It illuminates the prescriptions of the Labor Law in Lesotho pertaining to the textile industries and inquires whether such Labor Law is not nominally applied in protecting textile factory workers’ rights. It examines workers’ organizational capacity and bargaining, role of workers’ trade unions in addressing workers’ concerns and maintenance of labor law. Elucidation embraces efficacy of legal resolutions procedure followed whenever there are disputes between workers and management, reported by either the individual workers or workers’ trade unions/TUs. Outlook of the workers to examine their content concerning services rendered to them by labor offices forms part of this researched debated in-depth interviews. Dictates of the Law towards lowly esteemed workers and the extent to which their rights as workers in Lesotho are protected by the government mold chief innards. Findings reflect on benefits ought to be derived from this industrial sector but which are inconspicuous, thereby ensuing in destitution of workers whose majority are women with significant dependency ratios. Labor downsizing, layoffs, unfair dismissals, salary cuts and/or delayed labor earnings, toiling beyond normal working hours, chronic lung diseases from inhaled harmful chemicals, labor devalourization, vulnerability and others constitute quandary of Lesotho textile industry workers. The research question is, then, how far does the law work for them through pro-active and reactive (remedial) strategies for their emancipation, protection and recompense/welfare?