Maravi

Govt to recruit district labour inspectors
By Godfrey Chikumbi in Kawambwa
Tue 06 Aug. 2013, 14:00 CAT

LABOUR deputy minister Ronald Chitotela says the government has this year earmarked recruitment of district labour officers across the country. And Chitotela has called for mutual respect between road contractors and their workers. In an interview on Monday, Chitotela said the introduction of labour officers in each district was aimed at enhancing labour inspections and laws enforcement.

Chitotela said the move to recruit district labour inspectors was necessitated by some employers' non-compliance with labour laws. He disclosed that offices had so far been created in all the 29 newly-created districts following Cabinet's approval of the structure. He said the remaining old districts would begin receiving labour inspectors before December this year although some had already benefitted from the first recruitment exercise.

"The office of the district labour inspector is very important as it seeks to bring meaning to the enforcement of labour laws. We need to bring dignity to the Zambian workers who have been crying of abuse. Some employers have been breaking labour laws with impunity, especially in places where labour inspectors are absent," Chitotela said.

And Chitotela advised road contractors and workers they employed to "give each other respect in order to avoid conflicts in their day to day activities". Chitotela's advice comes amid reports that some road contractors are physically harassing their workers for failure to execute instructions properly.

But Chitotela accused some workers of provoking their supervisors, causing unnecessary conflicts between themselves. He also accused some workers of being too lazy and failing to comply with time schedules set by their supervisors.

"What our Zambian workers must know is that these contractors have a schedule to honour. They have a period within which to do these roads and these are contracts which can be terminated at any time when terms are not adhered to. So there is need for mutual respect between the workers and contractors," said Chitotela.

Labels: LABOUR, RONALD CHITOTELA

posted by MrK @ 5:16 PM