Africa-Press – Lesotho. WHEN life in Mokhotlong, Khubelu, became extremely difficult for ’Mamohato Tšotetsi, 40, she packed her bags and moved to Maseru to work in the factories.
Because she did not go far in school to land a good job, working in the factories was the only way to help her escape the wretched poverty of Lesotho’s rural communities.
That was back in 1998 when Tšotetsi got a job and joined masses of women and men in the factories. At the time, a basic salary was as little as M650. “I was happy to get the job,” she said.
“At least I could buy some food for the family.
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But the money was hardly enough and working conditions were treacherous. Thousands of Basotho have over the decades trekked to work in Maseru’s factories in hopes of changing their lives.
But, like Tšotetsi, they have found life in the city tough, especially working for underpaying factories. Narrating the life of a factory worker, Tšotetsi says working in the Chinese-owned factories is one of the toughest jobs one could think of.
Underpaid workers are always under pressure to meet targets set by their supervisors on a daily basis. “It is difficult. The most painful thing is that the salary earned by a factory worker is not equal to the amount of work that is done,” said Tšotetsi.
To make ends meet, one has to take up overtime shifts to make extra money. “You have to start work at 7am,” Tšotetsi said. “When the alarm bell rings at 7am, the factory worker has to be ready to start work, already putting on our aprons.
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Then at 12pm, the workers break for lunch which lasts for an hour. During the working hours, Tšotetsi says one is only allowed to go to the toilet for just three minutes every time nature calls.
“You will be in trouble if you spend more than three minutes in the toilet.
You are dragged to a disciplinary hearing and charged with misconduct,” she said. Men, she said, are sometimes given time out to smoke. Breaking for lunch comes with its own humiliation.
The women are thoroughly searched, most times invasively, by guards who want to ensure they have not stolen any items. “That process can last for 25 to 30 minutes, meaning that it eats into your lunch time.
Men are also searched but not like us. Sometimes we are forced to undress,” bemoaned Tšotetsi. Tšotetsi said solely surviving on a salary from the factories is no mean feat.
Many end up trapped in debt due to low salaries. Loan sharks hover around the industrial estates targeting desperate factory workers whom they charge extortionist interest rates.
Tšotetsi said the plight of factory workers who have to look after extended families is a dire one. She says the rental houses which are near the factories usually charge high rentals “because the landlords know for sure that the workers are desperate for housing”.
A single room can go for as high as M450. “We sacrifice a lot here,” said Tšotetsi. “We survive on unpalatable sinews”. “You have to find some means to plug the gaping financial holes in your pocket.
Life is tougher for single women who do not have husbands to add to the household income,” she said. The mother of two said many factory workers have come together to form small associations (stockvels) where they contribute small amounts monthly that they lend to each other for a small interest.
They share the profits at the end of every year. Tšotetsi says the factory workers also give others some money during their birthdays so that they could buy something for their families. The amounts, she says, could sound small but if well spent make a significant difference in the lives of the factory workers.
Working in the factories for 23 years has been “quite an experience”, said Tšotetsi, who berated Lesotho’s successive governments for failing to improve the working conditions of factory workers, despite the industry employing tens of thousands of Basotho.
The number of workers has now diminished because of the Covid-19 pandemic which saw close to 20 000 people losing their jobs. Factory owners argued they needed to lay off workers because of a steep decline in orders from overseas buyers.
Lesotho’s textiles and apparels are sold mainly to the United States (US) through the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade preference regime between the US and selected African countries that include Lesotho.
For workers churning out the clothing that ends up in fashion stores overseas, it is an “animal farm” situation. Pregnant women are not spared the harsh treatment, said Tšotetsi.
“They have to meet the targets. Pregnant women eat frequently but they are given only a few minutes to eat standing next to the toilets.
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Women are given three months maternity leave. They get their full salary for the first two months and half salary during the third.
This forces some women to return to work before the end of their maternity leave to make some extra money. Exchanging words with the Chinese employers is a sure way of inviting trouble, she said.
“A Chinese can beat up a worker with a skipper but when the worker fights back, she or he is fired.
I once fought with a Chinese employer back then and I was fired,” she recalled, adding that she had to search for a job elsewhere. “Sometimes you are told after 5pm that you have to stay for overtime starting from 5pm to 10 pm.
You can’t argue with them,” said Tšotetsi. Tšotetsi says “this is bad for married women” who have to convince their husbands that they are at work and not somewhere else.
She says the Chinese employers usually ask for the contacts of the husbands and call them to inform them that their wives are at work. “Some marriages have collapsed because of these conditions,” she said.
“It is a disaster when the woman lives with little school-going children. They will be expecting their mother to return from work around 6pm as usual. This means the children will have to take care of themselves.
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Such scenarios, she said, usually happen when there are a lot of orders from buyers abroad. Those asked to remain behind for overtime are paid M10 per hour and double that if they stay during weekends. Tšotetsi alleged workers are not allowed to eat their lunch inside the premises even during rainy days.
“We have to go out in the rain,” she said, adding that workers who are members of trade unions are usually targeted for dismissal, while workers who fall sick have to soldier on “because the Chinese don’t like people who fall sick easily.
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Tšotetsi recalled a time she lost a baby in 2014.
“I had to go to work even when I was not feeling well.
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There were media reports that workers at Taiwanese-owned Hippo Knitting are subjected to sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. The reports further showed that supervisors and HR personnel were at times sexually molesting their colleagues at the workplace.
Managing Director of Hippo Knitting, To Chan, said he was not aware that gender-based violence and harassment were rife at his factory until they were reported by the media.
Chan said they have to rectify what has been happening at his factory so that every worker feels at home. He said the working environment has to be friendly so that productivity soars for the betterment of economic growth.
National Clothing Textile and Allied Workers Union (NACTWU) Secretary General Sam Mokhele said they are aware of the problems affecting the factory workers.
He said they are trying by all means to address them. He said the welfare of the factory workers is not well taken care of at some factories. He said some factories do not have canteens where the workers could settle down to eat their lunch. Mokhele said the workers have to endure severe weather conditions such as scorching sun or pouring rains.
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