Around 200 Paray Hospital Staffers on ‘Go-Slow’ Over Unpaid July Salaries
7 August 2026 by Limpho Sello
Employees at Paray Mission Hospital in Thaba-Tseka have embarked on a go-slow over unpaid July salaries and long-standing arrears from an upwardly revised mountain allowance, according to Vuyani Dlakavu from the hospital’s Quality Assurance and Public Relations office.
“The action by an estimated 200 employees has severely disrupted service delivery across the district hospital, which also serves surrounding areas like Qacha’s Nek and Mokhotlong,” Dlakavu told Uncensored News on 6 August 2026.
Although he said patients were still being attended to by department heads and nurses paid by development partners, he admitted that patient care had slowed significantly.
Dlakavu said hospital management learned of the strike through a formal letter submitted by employees after they requested to remain behind following the hospital’s morning devotion on 6 August 2026. The strike began shortly after the morning prayer session.
The go-slow is driven by unpaid July salaries, which are normally disbursed by the 25th of each month—and back-pay for the M920 Mountain Allowance following its increase from M275 to M500. The mountain allowances arrears span from July 2025 to July 2026.
“Workers are asking that these two issues be settled for the work they have done. Until those issues are addressed, they will continue with a go-slow,” Dlakavu said.
He added: “However, they will still attend to emergency patients, including children, infants, and trauma cases arriving at the hospital.”
He explained that a formal written notice of the strike indicates that workers are specifically concerned about their unpaid salaries for the month of July that just ended.
Dlakavu said Paray Mission Hospital is unable to pay workers’ salaries because the Ministry of Health has not released funds for their second quarter subventions.
“The hospital attempted to borrow funds to bridge the gap, but efforts were unsuccessful, leaving management with no option but to wait for the subvention—potentially arriving near the end of the month,” he said.
Church-run hospitals rely entirely on government subventions to cover their operating costs. The funding is disbursed on a quarterly basis. However, Dlakavu said the hospital has not yet received its government subvention for the second quarter, which runs from July to September.
The subvention is paid under the Ministry of Health’s agreement with the Christian Health Association (CHAL) – a network of churches who own health facilities – eight hospitals, 71 health centres and four Nurses Training Institutions in Lesotho.
