27 June, 2024Unions in Lesotho are supporting a project on safe and inclusive work environments which will focus on occupational health and safety and ending gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH).
The project was launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on 20 June in Maseru and is supported by the governments of Lesotho, the United States of America, the ILO, and trade unions. Unions, including IndustriALL’s affiliate, the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), labour support organizations, non-governmental organizations, the ministry of labour, the Solidarity Centre, and the United States’ embassy officials participated at the launch.
The project will support the implementation of the ILO Convention 190 to end GBVH in the world of work which Lesotho ratified in 2023. At industry level, the project will enhance the Lesotho agreement to curb gender-based violence and sexual exploitation in the textile and garment sector, which was reached by unions, non-governmental organizations, and Nien Hsing Textile Company in 2019. IDUL is a signatory and sits on the oversight committee on the implementation of the agreement.
“We hope the ILO project will build on the successes of the Lesotho Agreement which has served workers interests by reducing incidents of gender-based violence and sexual harassment at Nien Hsing factories. But we want the agreement to be extended to other factories and sectors as well,”
said May Rathakane, IDUL general secretary.
The multilateral partnership for organizing, worker empowerment and rights (M-POWER), which is co-chaired by the US government and the ITUC supports the project. The M-POWER steering committee includes the governments of Argentina, Canada, and Spain, the International Domestic Workers Federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and the AFL-CIO. Other partners include the South African government, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Solidarity Centre, and the Workers’ Rights Consortium.
Rob Wayss, M-POWER executive director said:
“The launch of the ILO project provides a good follow up to the M-POWER summit held in July 2023 in Maseru. M-POWER was able to discuss with unions the impact and effectiveness of the Lesotho Agreement and how it has led to remedy several cases of violations and to improve the working environment at the covered factories. This led to progress in addressing GBVH violations in the factories.”
“GBVH continues to be prevalent in garment factories in Sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome this project because GBVH is also a safety issue for women workers who dominate the garment industry in Lesotho, and must be stopped,”
said Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa.