Hospital Strike

Our nurse went to the hospital on Tuesday morning and found the parking lot barricaded and was unable to get through. Thankfully she only needed to get a medication refill and was able to get one at a pharmacy in town. Currently it has been 2 days and the nurses, doctors and cleaning staff at the hospital are still on strike. T'sepang Hospital is the newest and the only public hospital that most families can afford and we at Beautiful Gate take the children there when we need medical care because the government pays for it. Please pray for a peaceful resolution very soon as it is a huge inconvenience for those who are in need of medical help.

I looked up an article in the Lesotho times:

Hospital workers down tools

MASERU — Workers at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital downed tools on Tuesday demanding a three percent salary increment. The strike at the hospital comes six months after management bowed to pressure and awarded the workers a 3.5 percent wage increase in April following another strike action.
The protest however nearly degenerated into violence as nurses who were accompanying patients from other districts in ambulances were barred from entering the hospital premises.
Patients were also turned away as doctors said they were only attending to emergency cases.
The workers were holding placards with messages such as, “We work like slaves but are not appreciated with the cent that you pay us, expect too much . . . We want the money.”
Motsopa said they were aware that the strike was illegal but had no option but to embark on protest action to force management to deal with their grievances.
“It is not fair for the police to come here and threaten us yet we are fighting for our rights. This is the only way for management to address our grievances,” he said.
He said the police had warned the workers to stay away from the hospital yesterday if they were not prepared to go back to work.

. . . police say strike is illegal, issue ominous warning

MASERU — Police yesterday warned workers at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital that their strike which began on Tuesday was illegal because they did not follow proper procedures. Senior Superintendent Mofokeng Kolo said the employees who picketed outside the country’s biggest hospital had not given a notice of their intention to strike.
“We never threatened the employees even though their strike is illegal. We have warned them that since their strike was illegal we will do whatever it takes, good or bad, if they continue to threaten other employees who were on duty,” he said.
“It was reported that they were blocking ambulances that brought patients from other hospitals and they even threatened other employees who were still on duty. What they were doing was illegal and we will take action against it.”

October is the time of year for pay increases and unfortunately employers and employees do not see eye to eye. Please pray for peace and understanding and for unity within the country of Lesotho.