Nearly 120 former Loti Brick Pty Ltd workers are waiting for their terminal benefits with bated breath, more than a year after the financially crippled company closed shop.
Despite repeated promises from authorities and management, the ex-employees say their dues remain unpaid.
Loti Brick, which had been producing clay brick products since 1978 under the control of the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), ceased operations last year, leaving employees in limbo.
The closure was attributed to ongoing financial challenges that had been dogging the company for several years. The firm had announced a temporary shutdown in September 2023 but operations never resumed.
To date, the former workers have reportedly only received their provident fund contributions through the Lesotho National Insurance Group (LNIG).
No terminal benefits including severance pay, notice pay, and leave entitlements have been issued, sparking outrage among the disgruntled ex-employees, backed by their representative union, the United Textile Employees (UNITE).
UNITE Secretary General, Senohe Solong, said the union has been pursuing the issue of terminal benefits since late 2023.
Solong noted that the union has held multiple discussions with officials from the Ministry of Trade and the Lesotho National Development Corporation interim CEO, Molise Ramaili on the former workers’ plight, but their responses have been “unclear and unproductive”.
He told theReporter in an interviewthis weekthat the union was told that they would receive their benefits and that the company would be handed over to someone else to run, but nothing happened.
“Workers are owed money in three primary categories: notice pay, leave pay, and severance pay.
“With the notice pay, normally, retrenched workers are given a one-month notice period. However, Loti Brick workers were neither notified nor paid,” he explained.
With the leave pay, employees are entitled to payment for unused leave days which too, remains unpaid.
Solong also revealed that Loti Brick management argues that provident funds should cover severance pay. However, the workers and the union strongly disagree.
He explained that the legal grounds for denying severance payments are unfounded.
“The 2024 Labour Code Amendment, which came into effect in April this year, cannot be applied retroactively,” Solong said, further arguing that people cannot be denied severance payments that they had already accumulated before the law changed.
He added: “We believe the workers were entitled to these payments well before the new law came into force.”
The union also pointed out that some workers had already resigned before the new labour law took effect, while others had entered settlements with the company — yet none have received a cent from those agreements.
An employee who worked at Loti Brick for 28 years said about 120 workers were affected by the shutdown.
“The company has shut its doors, but our struggles continue. We dedicated decades of our lives to that company. We are not asking for charity, but what we are owed,” the former employee said.
The former machine operator, who has remained unemployed since the closure, expressed deep frustration over the silence from both the company and government.
“I have not been able to find work since the closure, and my family is suffering,” he added.
Another ex-worker, who was in the maintenance department, explained that he started working at Loti Brick in 2018.
He indicated that he has not received his severance pay and is now in debts. “I am trying to find temporary jobs but without success,” the 35 year-old told this publication.
Established in 1978, Loti Brick is controlled by the LNDC with its operations involving the manufacturing, sales, and distribution of clay brick products.
The brick manufacturing firm faces tax liabilities exceeding M31 million and a certified statement of debt in the amounting of M7.4million owed to the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL). The sum comprises unpaid Corporate Income Tax, Fringe Benefit Tax and Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
Loti Brick (Pty) Ltd’s movable and immovable property is scheduled to go under the hammer on October 31, 2025 after RSL obtained a judgement in the Maseru Magistrate Court on August 19, 2025.
LNDC has since filed a motion in the High Court seeking an order to liquidate Loti Brick.
Asked for comment, LNDC corporate communication manager, Tiisetso Moremoholo, said the organisation is yet to issue out a statement pertaining to issues surrounding Loti Brick.
