THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO COMBINED SECOND TO EIGHTH PERIODIC REPORT UNDER THE AFRICAN
CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS AND INITIAL REPORT UNDER THE PROTOCOL TO THE
AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA
145. Statutory minimum wages are set annually by the ministry of Labour and Employment with
recommendations from a tripartite Wages Advisory Board representing the government,
employers and employees.
146. The government of Lesotho has made migration a major theme of Lesotho’s foreign and
public policies. This is reflected in a range of Lesotho’s key policy documents, including
National Vision 2020 and the National Strategic Development Plan 2012/13 – 2016/17, as
well as in historical bilateral labour agreements. Lesotho has actively participated in the
Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA), an inter-governmental forum for policy
dialogue on migration within SADC, as well as in the SADC Employment and Labour
Sector Ministerial and Technical meetings which regularly deal with labour migration
issues.
147. Lesotho has been a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and has
ratified about 23 international labour conventions. It has also ratified a range of
international agreements pertaining to migration and migration-related matters, including
(in 2005) the 1990 UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. At the bilateral level, the Government of
Lesotho has committed itself to discuss migration-related matters on the basis of bilateral
cooperation with South Africa, through the Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation
(JBCC).
Judicial measures
148. The Labour Code Amendment Act of 2000 established the Directorate of Dispute
Prevention and Resolution (DDPR) which is aimed at resolving labour disputes through
conciliation and arbitration. It is a semi-autonomous labour tribunal independent of the
government, political parties, trade unions, employers and employers’ organisations. The
DDPR has been hailed for speedy and non-adversarial resolution of labour disputes. It is
only when one of the parties is dissatisfied with the arbitration award that the matter is
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