…drag government to court in a landmark case
The Labour Court on Monday heard the case of scores of Village Health Workers (VHWs) demanding that government recognise and pay them properly for their work under the Ministry of Health.
Buses of different shapes and colours filled the streets of Maseru on the day, packed with Basotho women from across the country. They parked near the Labour Court, Magistrate’s Court, High Court and Court of Appeal, causing traffic jams as the women gathered to witness their historic case against government.
Dressed in their trade union colours, the women sang, ululated, and chanted revolutionary songs, creating a lively and unusual scene outside the courts.
A small group of these women represent the larger crowd as the lead applicants in the case, brought under the Lesotho Workers Association (LEWA). They are seeking to be paid a proper salary for the first time since Lesotho’s village health work programme began.
According to a UNDP article on Lesotho’s Village Health Workers, published on 12 April 2021, the Village Healthcare Unit has existed since 1978. The programme has aimed “to become a permanent active personnel unit within the Ministry of Health’s Department of Primary Healthcare.”
A long legal battle
The Applicants told the Labour Court that on 7 November 2023, the same court had already ruled in their favour under case number LC/REV/57/22. That judgment declared the Village Health Workers to be employees of the Ministry of Health and ordered the Ministry to pay them at least the minimum wage.
However, the Ministry failed to comply, saying it did not have enough money budgeted for this. In 2025, the union asked Parliament’s Social Cluster portfolio committee to step in, but the matter was not resolved.
On 23 May 2025, the Ministry of Health formally asked the Ministry of Finance for funding to pay the workers’ minimum wage and the money owed to them, referring back to an earlier request made in January 2024. Despite this request and the court order, the Ministry of Finance refused to release the money.
On 2 June 2025, the Ministry of Finance responded, acknowledging the importance of following the court’s ruling and paying the workers fairly, while raising some concerns of its own.
A settlement is reached — but not fully honoured
On 22 September 2025, the union and the Ministry of Health reached a settlement, which the court then made an official order. Under this agreement, the Ministry of Health was to request increased pay for the workers in two stages.
For the 2025/2026 financial year, the requested monthly pay was:
- Coordinators: M2,500
- Supervisors: M1,800
- Village Health Workers: M1,200
For 2026/2027, the requested monthly pay was to rise to:
- Coordinators: M3,100
- Supervisors: M2,800
- Village Health Workers: M2,500
The settlement stated that it “shall be served and/or attached to the documents submitted to the Ministry of Finance relating to payment of Village Health Workers,” showing that the Ministry of Finance was meant to play a direct role in making the payments happen.
On 7 January 2026, the Ministry of Health again asked for the money needed to carry out the court order, explaining that the increases were meant to happen gradually over two years, from 2025/2026 to 2026/2027.
On 3 March 2026, the union wrote to the Ministry of Health, copying the Ministry of Finance, to formally raise concern that the workers had still not been placed on the agreed pay scale.
The letter argued: “This explanation is legally untenable. A court order cannot be suspended or ignored on the grounds of budgetary inconvenience. The rules of law require strict and immediate compliance.”
The Ministry of Health replied on 14 April 2026, saying it had asked the Ministry of Finance for the necessary budget but that the request “was not honoured.”
Ministry of Finance added to the case
By April 2026, the start of the new financial year, the workers’ pay had still not increased. As a result, the Ministry of Finance was formally added to the case, since it controls the release of funds to all government ministries.
The applicants argue that without money from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health cannot carry out the court’s order, and that the ongoing failure to pay amounts to “wilful contempt of a lawful court order.”
In their court papers, the applicants stated: “It is against this background that the Respondents are deliberately and intentionally disobeying the order of this court… This matter is extremely urgent because the respondents have been contemptuous against this court and they seem not to have an intention to adhere to this court.”
The case is postponed by the Labour Court to 28 September this year to allow the ministries involved time to familiarise themselves with case and come for their possible defence on the set date.
Summary
- On 23 May 2025, the Ministry of Health formally asked the Ministry of Finance for funding to pay the workers’ minimum wage and the money owed to them, referring back to an earlier request made in January 2024.
- The settlement stated that it “shall be served and/or attached to the documents submitted to the Ministry of Finance relating to payment of Village Health Workers,” showing that the Ministry of Finance was meant to play a direct role in making the payments happen.
- On 3 March 2026, the union wrote to the Ministry of Health, copying the Ministry of Finance, to formally raise concern that the workers had still not been placed on the agreed pay scale.
I am a journalist based in Maseru, Lesotho, renowned for investigative reporting. Over the years, my work has been published both locally and internationally, including in South Africa through the Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Daily Maverick, among other publications.
In Lesotho, I have served as a senior reporter for several leading weekly newspapers, including the Lesotho Times, Public Eye, and Sunday Express. My reporting has focused on uncovering issues of public interest, promoting accountability, and giving voice to underreported stories.
In 2016, I co-founded the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Maseru, an initiative dedicated to strengthening investigative journalism and fostering a culture of transparency and public-interest reporting in Lesotho.
