By Staff Reporter
Local trade union, the National Union of Commerce, Catering and Allied Workers (NUCCW) is warming up to the new labour law which it believes will go a long way towards improving the working conditions at multinational retail chain Shoprite Lesotho.
The Labour Bill 2023, which replaces the Labour Code 1992, has been tabled in parliament after deliberations that started in 2005.
The union’s displeasure with the wage structure at Shoprite is a result of persistent allegations of ‘slavery’ practices by the company, as evidenced by a workforce employed as “permanent key timers”.
Sources said the majority of workers at these retail shops are regarded as permanent key timers, a labour terminology which the union says is not provided for by the country’s labour legislation.
“Until this new law is passed, workers at the Shoprite Lesotho will continue to work as what the business calls key timers. Their working conditions, especially monthly salaries, are quite alarming. Most of the workers are employed as key timers, a term that is alien to the workspace,” says NUCCW general secretary Tṧeliso Ramochela.
The union claims it has significant membership at the supermarket.
“Our law is silent on part time employment. We don’t know what key timers are and until the law is altered or amended, workers at Shoprite will remain chained under miserly salaries as they work for certain hours a day. It’s really a disaster. Their monthly pay rate is determined by management and that is not covered anywhere in our law,” Ramochela lamented.
He indicated that the current labour law sets the minimum wage standard for daily, weekly and monthly pay for workers. Workers are to work for 45 hours in a week.
“As Shoprite is a retail business, there should be a minimum standard pay rate to be followed. The employer is the one who determines how much to pay his workforce who are called key timers,” he revealed, hopeful that the enactment of a new law will disentangle the ‘bondage’ that the Shoprite workers are subjected to.
The new Labour Act 2024 is to allow for wages fixing and conditions of work determined by the times of a contract of employment, collective agreement, an arbitration of notice published in the gazette by the minister of labour and employment upon recommendation of wages and conditions of employment advisory board.
If an employee works on public holidays, they are entitled to a double normal pay for each day worked.
Permanent key time employees at Shoprite are paid at varying rates based on the hours of work, investigations by theReporter have revealed.
According to the job offer agreement between the employees and Shoprite, workers “are employed on a basis of total job and working hours flexibility”.
Workers “agree to work or relieve in any occupation, section or department for a period or periods of time decided by management at any time.”
As part of their duties, they “agree to work variable hours, whether daily or weekly as scheduled by management from time to time in its discretion, and agree to be paid variable rates in accordance with the scheduled occupation.”
They are bound to work a minimum of 100 hours and they are to be available “to work shifts as scheduled for up to seven days per trading week including Sundays and public holidays throughout the month.”
In order to address the situation, NUCCW negotiated with the retail’s management and penned down an agreement. It stipulates clearly that “permanent key time employees who are in the employ of the company on the date of signing of this agreement and who have attained more than 12 months’ continuous service with the company on the date of signing this agreement will earn a basic wage of not less than M15.38 per hour effective from May 2023.”
Furthermore, it was agreed that permanent full-time employees who have attained a continuous service of 12 months with Shoprite Lesotho earn a basic salary of no less than M3000 monthly commencing May 1 2023.
Quizzed about the situation at the supermarker, Construction, Mining and Quarrying Association’s general secretary, Robert Mokhahlane, indicated the labor law “is silent on hourly pay rate.”
He scoffed at the pay rate system rampant at Shoprite Lesotho, insisting the law allowed for daily, weekly and monthly pay for workers in retail business sector.
NUCCW’s concerns come in the wake of a Labour Appeal Court judgment dismissing an appeal by two Shoprite-Checkers (Pty) Ltd employees or former employees?.
The two, ‘Mapaseka Rantsane and Seitebatso Chaka instituted a claim in the Directorate on Dispute Prevention and Resolution (DDPR) in Hlotse, Leribe claiming they were being underpaid by Shoprite.
The court was to determine whether part-time employees who work for 100 hours per month are entitled to be paid a full basic statutory minimum wage paid to full time workers who work 195 hours a month.
Initially, the DDPR in Leribe decided in favour of the two employees and ordered Shoprite to comply with the then minimum wage standard. The management appealed the decision in the Labour Court seeking to overturn the DDPR decision. The ruling favoured the shop’s management, prompting the employees to seek relief in the Labour Appeal Court.
The Labour Appeal Court acting judge Keketso Moahloli in May 2018 dismissed the appellants’ application on the grounds that part-time workers “will only be considered to suffer pay discrimination in comparison to comparable full-time workers if they receive a basic wage which is proportionately lower than of the full-time workers.
He said where there is an ambiguity in the labour law on part-time employees, the International Labour Organisation’s convention must apply. It says: “For part time workers, the amount of the minimum wage should be proportioned to their working hours.
“The purpose of a wage determination by the State is to protect employees against unduly low wages for work performed by them. In the 2009 wage order, the State determined that where an employee worked full-time for one day, he should earn at least M57, for one week at least M271 and for one month at least M1188.
“The State’s concern was not to ensure that just because an employee happened to be paid on a monthly basis, he should receive the full statutory minimum monthly wage despite – as in this case – not having worked full-time for the month and only having worked half of the number of hours of a full-time monthly employee (100 hours instead of 195 hours,” Justice Moahloli decided.
Meanwhile, ministry of labour and employment legal officer ‘Mamolefi Ntaitsane told theReporter the wages advisory board has submitted a proposal to seek public opinion on pay rates.
Ntaitsane noted that the board will scrutinise the opinions from the public and submit a report to the minister of labour ahead of issuance of a notice in the government gazette on minimum wages 2024.
She said the new bill on labour is currently before parliament.
Attempts to get a comment from Shoprite hit a snag as this publication was referred to the chain store’s head office in Cape Town, South Africa.
On her part, Association of Lesotho Employers and Business executive director Advocate Lindiwe Sephomolo said employers need flexible working hours in order to increase productivity and engagement.
“The economic landscape has changed drastically since the Labour Code was enacted in 1992. Establishments are now open for longer periods and some businesses operate in remote areas thereby necessitating a review of the law. Our law allows for shift work and it even allows for night work.
“If the rate of pay is determined per hour then the employee will be paid for the hours worked. The new labour law will not disadvantage employees as it merely introduces flexibility which allows employers to average out hours of work throughout the month depending on the exigencies of the job. Specifically, the new law allows the employee to work for 12 hours in a day with the necessary breaks every five hours,” Sephomolo indicated.
Asked whether ILO Conventions should be invoked where the labour law is ambiguous, she replied: “Yes, but you should be aware that Lesotho has not ratified the Convention on hours of work. In any event, it dates as far back as 1919. Please note that the courts can enforce even unratified conventions.”
