Matekane’s winter of discontent

THE government led by Prime Minister Sam Matekane faces a winter of discontent after trade unions last week rejected a six percent wage increment for the private sector.

The proposal was part of recommendations that had been put forward by the government’s Wages Advisory Board.

Trade unions have angrily described the proposed six percent wage increase as a “pittance” and vowed not to accept any increase below 20 percent.

That is likely to put the trade unions on a collision course with the Matekane-led government that has been in office for just six months.

We can only expect mass job stay-aways with trade unions pushing the government to accede to their demands.

That is a recipe for social upheaval for a government that had promised so much in seeking to improve Basotho’s economic fortunes.

The trade unions are not giving the government any time to settle. But that was to be expected.

In his desperate attempt to woo voters, Matekane might have over-promised during last year’s election campaigns. And now the bill for making daring electoral promises is due.

We are not surprised though that disillusionment has quickly set in. These are desperate times for workers after being buffeted by hardships for decades.

That is why the workers are growing frustrated. That anger could soon explode.

While Matekane has promised to generate jobs and improve the people’s living conditions long term, desperate Basotho want results now.

That is to be expected because we live in an era of instant gratification.

However, if Matekane bows to the trade unions’ demands, he risks collapsing a private sector that has been wobbling following the devastating impact brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The textile sector, which is the second biggest single employer after the government, is in distress. It has been hemorrhaging jobs since Covid-19 broke out.

With the private sector in distress, the government cannot railroad hefty salary increases. If it does, that could sound the death knell for a private sector that is already on its knees.

Matekane is therefore caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. His populist electoral message is coming back to bite him.

He will need to do a balancing act to keep the workers and investors happy.

That will not be easy.

It is clear that this is a matter that Matekane cannot just leave to the Wages Advisory Board. He will at some point need to provide leadership to placate the angry unions.

He will need to persuade the unions to buy into his long-term vision for Lesotho. It would appear Matekane has a plan to transform Lesotho.

He will need to convince the unions that the plan will work. How he persuades them to be patient will test to the limit his leadership acumen.

Matekane will need to immediately improve the investment climate to allow more investors to come into Lesotho. That will be key to growing the private sector which will in turn create better paying jobs for Basotho.

He will need to support youth-driven enterprises to create jobs.

Lesotho needs a new “Jobs Indaba” to discuss how the government working in consultation with the private sector can create a platform to create jobs.

All this must be premised on the belief that the engine for economic growth remains small businesses that have been in survival mode for the past three years.