Maseru, Dec. 12 — Natiobal Clothing Textile and Allied Workers Union (NACTWU) has called on the government to find the owner of Ace Apparel (Pty) Ltd located at Ha Maqele, Maputsoe after fleeing without paying the workers.
On Monday morning, the workers found the factory locked and locks changed with no trace of their South African Afrikans employer.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday NACTWU Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ts’epang Makakole said that their appeal is for the government to find the said owner and bring him back into the country to pay the workers.
He said that it is unfair and heartless for the employer to run away without paying workers yet they have worked.
On the other hand, it is reported that the said employer’s phone has been unreachable since Monday which is a surprise because on Sunday there were workers still on duty.
Moreover, efforts to speak to Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) were in vain.
However the Agency has learned that personnel from the Corporation and Labour were at the factory earlier on Tuesday where they informed workers who had pitched up again to go back home while LNDC with the help of the police is tracing the whereabouts of the factory owner.
They further indicated that they could not tell when and how the workers will be paid. They added that the new owner will have to employ the grieved workers.
Meanwhile, since 2020 over 15,000 factory workers have lost their jobs as factories closed down due to lack of market as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
