Africa-Press – Lesotho. TRADE unions and Hippo Knitting factory have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to eradicate Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and harassment at the workplace.
The MoU, signed on Wednesday, has been endorsed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment as a progressive move to reform the working environment at the factory.
Rise Africa, a consultancy entity, would be responsible for the oversight implementation of the agreement. The initiative was triggered by a plethora of media reports on GBV and harassment at the factory.
The parties have further agreed to work together to develop a corrective plan to deal with unfair discrimination and workers’ rights. The parties also agreed to have a sustainable plan aimed at addressing all concerns constructively and ensuring that GBV and unfair discrimination incidents do not occur.
“It will ensure that workers’ rights are respected and protected at all times,” reads part of the agreement.
Managing Director of Hippo Knitting, To Chan, said he was not aware that GBV and harassment were prevalent at his factory until he saw the media reports.
He said the company is committed to eradicating the scourge so that every worker “feels at home”. He said the working environment has to be “user-friendly” to increase workers morale and production.
Chan said left unresolved, GBV hurts the entire economy of Lesotho. “Investors would look at Lesotho as a lawless country if these problems are not addressed,” he said.
He thanked the media for highlighting GBV issues, saying he could have remained in the dark had it not been for the reports that appeared in news media.
Chan said the commitment by the company and the unions is likely to bear fruit because of the external monitoring by Rise Africa. Media reports highlighted how some supervisors and Human Resources department personnel were at times sexually molesting their colleagues.
The reports suggested that workers were forced to have sex with supervisors in exchange for employment or other benefits at work. In the MoU, the factory restated its commitment to ensuring the safety of all citizens and condemned any acts of violence against all its workers.
The Secretary General of National Clothing Textile and Allied Workers Union (NACTWU) Samuel Mokhele said issues such as GBV and workers’ rights can only be effectively confronted through a collaborative approach between workers representatives and company owners.
“This project will be a success because we are not working in isolation but collectively,” he said, predicting that the programme would change the lives of workers at the factory.
Mokhele said GBV cases are not confined to Hippo Knitting but are rampant at most workplaces across the country. “This culture of GBV and harassment at the workplace is common in the factories,” he said. He said some cases have already been lodged with the police for investigation.
Advocate ’Mareabetsoe Mohlatsane, an organiser with the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), paid tribute to Rise Africa for driving the initiative to intervene and resolve nagging issues at the Hippo Knitting factory.
Adv Mohlatsane said the programme had already been tried at Nien hsing factory, where “it is doing well”. “We hope it will also become a success here,” she said.
Lulu Naidoo from Rise Africa said the programme seeks to break social norms, patriarchy, gender stereotypes and challenge power dynamics to achieve gender equality.
Under the MoU, the parties agreed to participate in bi-monthly meetings to discuss the implementation of the initiative. Africa Rise is responsible for overseeing the bi-monthly meetings, according to the agreement.
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