In March 2025, Beyond Laundry & Housekeeping, a Maseru-based cleaning services company, secured a high-profile Ministry of Health tender to provide critical cleaning services at Mokhotlong and Thaba-Tseka hospitals.
Less than a year later, what was presented as a milestone in improving hospital standards has deteriorated into a crisis marked by unpaid wages, unsafe working conditions, and mounting desperation among frontline workers.
Employees told Lesotho Tribune they have not received salaries since September 2025. While they were initially warned of possible payment delays due to a complex funding chain involving the Lesotho Millennium Development Agency (LMDA), the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Finance, they say they never anticipated a prolonged and complete breakdown in remuneration.
“We signed legally binding contracts. We trusted the process,” one worker said. “We never imagined we would be pushed into a corner like this.”
The financial distress is compounded by low wages. Workers say they earn M2,600 per month, roughly M400 less than their predecessors. They further allege that promised bereavement benefits, meant to support employees during family losses, have never materialised.
More troubling are allegations of unsafe working conditions in high-risk hospital environments. Employees report persistent shortages of basic protective equipment, including masks, rubber gloves, and detergents. In some cases, they claim they have been forced to borrow supplies from hospital staff or, most alarmingly, reuse disposable rubber gloves while cleaning clinical areas.
“You cannot clean a hospital without protection,” another worker said. “We are exposed every day.”
Staff also accuse management of negligence, alleging that communication is minimal and that updates on salary payments are only provided after repeated and aggressive follow-ups.
When questioned about the delays, workers allege they were told the current salary structure was largely a temporary arrangement intended to help the company secure the tender. While not management’s exact wording, employees say the implication was that their pay conditions were secondary to passing the procurement process.
Contacted for comment, Beyond Laundry & Housekeeping Contract Manager Thapelo Mokhethi acknowledged what he described as “lengthy” salary delays but denied any knowledge of shortages in protective equipment. He maintained that management remains in constant communication with the LMDA to track the release of funds, though he conceded that he could not provide a definitive timeline for when workers would be paid.
The contract forms part of the Health Maintenance – Project Implementing Unit (HM-PIU), launched by the Ministry of Health in July 2024 to improve hospital infrastructure and service standards.
Instead, nearly ten months after the tender was awarded, the project has left cleaning staff facing an impossible choice: protect their livelihoods or protect their lives.
Following his initial response, Mokhethi became unavailable for further comment.
Editorial note
The Ministry of Health, the Health Maintenance – Project Implementing Unit, and the Ministry of Finance were approached for comment at the time of publication.
