Negotiations for improved salaries have been difficult, says Hikaumba

Negotiations for improved salaries have been difficult, says Hikaumba
By Charles Mangwato in Choma and Pride Bwalya in Monze
Friday April 04, 2008 [04:00]

ZAMBIA Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Leonard Hikaumba has said the negotiations process for improved salaries and conditions of services between the government and the unions has been difficult. Addressing civil servants in the Choma council chamber yesterday, Hikaumba regretted that the negotiations have been made difficult by civil servants themselves through the proliferation of unions.

"We have created this problem on our own. There is no way the government can negotiate with seven different unions representing the same workers,” said Hikaumba.

He said the government negotiation team had to deal with seven unions representing civil servants thereby making it difficult to achieve desired results in good times.

Hikaumba said the formation of splinter unions have created a big disservice to the bargaining power of the civil service unions as the employer had become more advantaged.

He said worse still, the unions were not consulting each other on what demands to present to the government, hoping to outwit other unions on the outcome of the bargaining process with government.

"But what is true is that government is very clever, it will award increment that will please all its workers," he said.

He suggested that civil servants should have one union or have one bargaining unit.

Hikaumba said the formation of more unions had weakened the voice of the civil servants and advantaged the employer.

"Even when you call for a strike, there won't be any impact because some unions might not participate. The voice of the civil servants has indeed been weakened," he said.

He urged members of the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia to exercise patience in the wake of the current difficulties being experienced in the negotiation progress.

And Hikaumba in an interview in Monze said negotiations were supposed to be completed before the national budget was prepared, approved and presented before Parliament.

He said the delay in negotiations for salary increment was worrying because the government workers were anxious to see negotiations being concluded in time.