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Labour movement has lost its vibrancy, says Ng'ambo

Labour movement has lost its vibrancy, says Ng'ambo
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Wed 27 June 2012, 13:23 CAT

THE labour movement has lost its vibrancy because trade union members are not holding union leaders accountable, states trade unionist Benson Ng'ambo. In a statement, Ng'ambo stated that union leaders had abandoned their calling for which pioneer unionists staked their lives.

Ng'ambo stated that unions had lost the art of worker representation and workers stood alone, devoid of true trade union leadership in the quest for decent wages, good working conditions and acceptable employee welfare.

"Our unions today are focused on nothing else but negotiations for salaries.
When negotiations are over, they all go to sleep as though workers cease to exist after negotiations. Today, our unions need to do much to win the confidence of the employer and the employee they seek to represent," he stated.

"There is need for workers to team up and form one strong union that will live up to their aspirations. This is where the survival of workers in government lies: having one strong union of government workers in the Zambian public service."

He stated that because of the government's goodwill and commitment towards improving conditions of service for its workers, it had offered a deal that no union had lobbied for its members.

"All that is in the 2012 Collective Agreement is as a result of government's new life cycle approach to conditions of service. We have seen the demands that unions presented to government for 2012 negotiations, there is nothing closer to what government gave. Government gave a good deal than what unions demanded," he stated.

Ng'ambo was until recently Civil Servants and Allied Workers' Union of Zambia regional secretary for North Western Province, but has resigned to join the newly formed of Union of Government Workers in Zambia.

Ng'ambo stated that he was prompted to leave CSAWUZ because it had failed to deliver to the expectations of its members as evidenced by discontent among employees of government contributing to the union.

"The union has abandoned the implementation of the strategic plan which was voted and approved by its members in its national conferences and the recruitment and retention policy which was approved by its top leadership. With this, the union will never rise again," Ng'ambo stated.

He decried the poor structural setup by CSAWUZ where entire provinces were supervised by a lone regional secretary, who was not adequately funded.

"The Civil Servants and Allied Workers' Union of Zambia has failed to implement the objectives of the union enshrined in their constitution due to some of its leaders who are incompetent and are bent on tribal patronage even in dealing with union operations," he stated.

Ng'ambo argued that CSAWUZ would not meet the expectations of its members due to the heavy debt burden on its shoulders and urged all public service workers to unite and put in place an institution that will serve them better.

Labels: CSAWUZ, LABOUR

posted by MrK @ 3:58 PM