Police whip striking workers

Lesotho police used teargas and whips to disperse striking clothing workers who took to the streets of Maseru on Monday to demonstrate for better wages and working conditions, news reports said. According to reports some protesters sustained injuries when police whipped the crowd. The clash erupted when a group of protesters threatened workers who had reported for duty. The protesters were by then on the way to Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's office to present a petition against low wages in the clothing industry. The petition was also handed over to the minister of employment and labour, Sello Machakela, and to the speaker of the national assembly, Ntlhoi Motsamai. The wages advisor report to the government had recommended a 6.5 percent increase in wages which the union rejected.