Zambia's minimum wage is too low - Ghandour
By Staff Reporter
Wed 21 Aug. 2013, 14:00 CAT
ORGANISATION of African Trade Union Unity president Ibrahim Ghandour has noted that Zambia's minimum wage is too low.
Speaking during the opening of Zambia Congress of Trade Unions pre-2014 national budget workshop in Lusaka yesterday, Professor Ghandour also noted that civil servants in Zambia get very low salaries to be paying tax.
Prof Ghandour, a member of the Sudanese parliament, explained that the Sudanese government had managed to stop taxing all civil servants owing to the fact that their wages were too low.
He added that civil servants in most African countries and other workers who earn low wages could not avoid to meet their daily needs because of the high cost of living.
He called on the Zambian government to broaden the tax base.
Labels: IBRAHIM GANDOUR, MINIMUM WAGE
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Govt builds team over minimum wage
By Martin Mashekwa in Kalomo
Wed 08 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
GOVERNMENT has constituted a technical team to look into the issue of the minimum wage bracket, which has received noncompliance by most employers who have opted for a 'take it or leave it option' for their employees, labour deputy minister Ronald Chitotela has disclosed.
Chitotela said the team was expected to come up with a 'sector-based minimum wage' taking into account the rate of turnover in each sector for the smooth implementation of workers' take home pay.
He said the government had listened to cries in various sectors over the implementation of the minimum wage in July last year, with the least-paid worker now expected to get not less than KR700.
And Chitotela said it is not political to force heads of government departments to understand the Patriotic Front (PF) manifesto, adding that it was justifiable to do so as policies to be implemented were in the framework of the ruling party.
He said this when he paid a courtesy call on Kalomo district administrative officer, Justus Phiri over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Chitotela has warned tobacco farmers in Kalomo not to allow children whose mothers are engaged in curing the crop in barns to be exposed to toxic substances, saying doing so would be an abrogation of the factories Act Chapter 441 of the Laws of Zambia.
Chitotela sounded the warning when he inspected a local farm where he found children with their mother working in tobacco barns.
He also urged commercial farmers to ensure that they provide protective clothing to their employees for them not to be exposed to health risks.
Chitotela said this after an inspection of farm workers who were found in tobacco barns without protective gear against tobacco fumes.
In another development, a local tobacco farmer, Graham Mulders, urged the government to quickly find a solution to the closure of Collum Coal Mine as most tobacco farmers relied on the coal that was produced from that mine to cure tobacco instead of using wood as it contributed to rampant deforestation.
Chitotela was in Southern Province to check on compliance with labour laws by employers.
Labels: MINIMUM WAGE, PF, RONALD CHITOTELA
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COMMENT - Not just a minimum wage, but a basic income for everyone. This is a proposal brought before the EU.
Title: Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) - Exploring a pathway towards emancipatory welfare conditions in the EU
Current status: Collection ongoing
Deadline: 14/01/2014
Commission registration number: ECI(2013)000001
Date of registration: 14/01/2013
Registration language: EN / Other languages available: DE HU FR SV IT PT SL DA NL FI ES
Subject-matter: Asking the Commission, to encourage cooperation between the Member States (according to Art 156 TFEU) aiming to explore the Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) as a tool to improve their respective social security systems.
Main objectives: In the long run the objective is to offer to each person in the EU the unconditional right as an individual, to having his/her material needs met to ensure a life of dignity as stated by the EU treaties, and to empower participation in society supported by the introduction of the UBI. In the short term, initiatives such as “pilot‐studies“ (Art 156 TFEU) and examination of different models of UBI (EP resolution 2010/2039(INI) §44) should be promoted by the EU.
Provisions of the Treaties considered relevant by the organisers: TEU Art. 2+3; TFEU Art. 5+156, Charter of Fundamental Rights Art. 1+2, 5+6, 15, 21, 34
Organisers / Members of citizens' committee:
* Representative: Klaus SAMBOR - aon.914008712@aon.at
* Substitute: Ronald BLASCHKE - blaschke@grundeinkommen.de
* Other members: Stanislas JOURDAN, Sepp KUSSTATSCHER, Olympios RAPTIS, Branko GERLIC, Anne MILLER
Website: http://www.basicincomeinitiative.eu
Annex: Full_Annex_ECI_unconditionnal-basic-income.pdf (116591 bytes)
Draft legal act:
Sources of support and funding:
Labels: LABOUR, MINIMUM WAGE, UNCONDITIONAL BASIC INCOME
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COMMENT - With a Rand/USD exchange rate of 0.112, daily rates for farmworkers would go from $ 7,73 (R69) to $ 11,76 (R105) - PER DAY. With a (conservatively estimated) 8 hours a day of farm work, that would mean going from $0,96 per hour to $1,47 per hour. This, according to the Transvaal Agricultural Union, would bankrupt small and emerging farmers and create inflation. What a dirtbags.
TAU: New minimum wage for farmworkers will harm country
04 Feb 2013 16:29 - Sapa
The new minimum wage for farmworkers, announced by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant, "will harm the country", says commercial farmers' union TAU SA. TAU says a wage increase would jeopardise labour relations, cause a reduction in the agriculture sector work force, and create a 'climate for inflation' that would impact on consumers. (Gallo)
The wage increase would jeopardise labour relations, cause a reduction in the agriculture sector work force, and create a "climate for inflation" that would impact on consumers, it said in a statement.
Earlier, Oliphant announced a new minimum wage of R105 a day for farmworkers – up from the current R69 a day – to take effect from March 1 this year.
The Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU SA) said the increase was the result of "undue pressure and intimidation by seasonal workers", adding that this created "a precedent for future actions in other sectors". This would jeopardise labour relations.
"Secondly, small and emerging farmers in particular, certainly cannot afford these wages. [There are] concerns in certain industries [they] will not be able to pay these wages ... They will have no other choice but to reduce their workforce for the sake of financial survival."
With its announcement, government was aiding the creation of a climate for inflation "by approving several increases which will ultimately have a negative effect on consumers".
Higher minimum wages, higher electricity prices, and higher fuel prices were just some examples.
Further unrest
The statement quotes TAU SA president Louis Meintjes, who said organised agriculture's "motivated proposal of R80 per day ... was totally ignored".
He also warned that further unrest could occur if farmers were to implement wage increases only at the new minimum wage level.
"Other workers will be most unhappy if their fellow workers received a substantive salary increase which did not apply to those already receiving wages in excess of the minimum wage.
"Farmers will therefore have to implement an increase applicable to all pay scales which makes the situation much more difficult.
"With such increases, farmers will have no option but to invest in mechanisation, which will minimise the impact of further increases and labour unrest," Meintjes said.
In recent protests in parts of the Western Cape, farmworkers have been demanding a R150 a day minimum wage. – Sapa
Labels: AGRICULTURE, MILDRED OLIPHANT, MINIMUM WAGE
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COMMENT - No surprise. We have to have international agreements that 1) all natural resources belong to the people of country and 2) are sold by to the state at cost and are sold by the state at maximum profit only. That would ensure that no country can be retaliates against for levying whatever tax their sovereign nation wants to collect. And we must move towards a living wage, not merely a minimum wage.
(CROOKS AND LIARS) World's Richest Woman Suggests $2 a Day Wages for Australian Miners
September 05, 2012 04:00 PM
By David
The world's most wealthy woman is warning that firms are in danger of having to abandon iron-ore mining in Australia if wages are not cut, pointing out that African miners are "willing to work for less than $2 per day."
In a video recently posted on the Sydney Mining Club website, 58-year-old Gina Rinehart -- who has
amassed a $18 billion fortune through iron-ore prospecting -- said that Australia could be more competitive by emulating Africa.
"We must be realistic, not just promote class warfare," the billionaire explained. "Indeed, if we competed at the Olympic games as sluggishly as we compete economically, there would be an outcry."
"The evidence is unarguable that Australia is indeed becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export- orientated business," she insisted, adding that "Africans want to work. Its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day."
Under current exchange rates, $2 a day in Australia is worth about $2.04 in U.S. dollars.
"It's not the Australian way to toss people $2, to toss them a $2 gold coin and then ask them to work for a day," Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters on Wednesday. "We support proper Australian wages and decent working conditions for Australian people."
Rinehart came under fire last week after she wrote a column urging those "jealous" of the wealthy to "spend less time drinking or smoking and socializing, and more time working."
Labels: MINIMUM WAGE, MINING, NEOLIBERALISM
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History of South Africa's Cheap Labour Economy: The 1946 Miners Strike and the Marikana Massacre
by Chris Webb
Global Research, August 21, 2012
Socialist Project
On August 4, 1946 over one thousand miners assembled in Market Square in Johannesburg, South Africa. No hall in the town was big enough to hold them, and no one would have rented one to them anyway. The miners were members of the African Mine Worker's Union (AMWU), a non-European union which was formed five years earlier in order to address the
12 to 1 pay differential between white and black mineworkers. The gathering carried forward just one unanimous resolution:
African miners would demand a minimum wage of ten shillings (about 1 Rand) per day. If the Transvaal Chamber of Mines did not meet this demand, all African mine workers would embark on a general strike immediately.
Workers mounted the platform one after the other to testify: “When I think of how we left our homes in the reserves, our children naked and starving, we have nothing more to say. Every man must agree to strike on 12 August. It is better to die than go back with empty hands.” The progressive Guardian newspaper reported
an old miner getting to his feet and addressing his comrades: “We on the mines are dead men already!”[1]
The massacre of 45 people, including 34 miners, at Marikana in the North West province is an inevitable outcome of a system of production and exploitation that has historically treated human life as cheap and disposable. If there is a central core – a stem in relation to which so many other events are branches – that runs through South African history, it is the demand for cheap labour for South Africa's mines. “There is no industry of the size and prosperity of this that has managed its cheap labour policy so successfully,” wrote Ruth First in reference to the Chamber of Mines ability to pressure the government for policies that displaced Africans from their land and put them under the boot of mining bosses.[2]
Masters and Servants
Mechanisms such as poll and hut taxes, pass laws, Masters and Servants Acts and grinding rural poverty were all integral in ensuring a cheap and uninterrupted supply of labour for the mines. Pass laws were created in order to forge a society in which farm work or mining was the only viable employment options for the black population.
And yet the low wages and dangerous work conditions kept many within the country away, forcing the Chamber of Mines to recruit labour from as far afield as Malawi and China throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Sordid deals between Portuguese East Africa and Apartheid South Africa ensured forced labour to be recruited for the mines and by 1929 there were 115,000 Mozambicans working underground. “It has been said,” wrote First in her study of migrant Mozambican miners, “that the wealth of Reef gold mines lies not in the richness of the strike but in the low costs of production kept down by cheap labour.”[3]
When AMWU was formed in 1941 black miners earned 70 Rand a year while white workers received 848 Rand. White miners had been organized for many years, but there was little solidarity between the two groups as evidenced by the 1922 Rand Rebellion led by the whites-only Mine Workers Union. White miners went on strike against management's attempt at weakening the colour bar in order to facilitate the entry of cheaper black labour into skilled positions. Supported by the Communist Party of South Africa under the banner of “Unite and Fight for a White South Africa!” the rebellion was viciously crushed by the state leaving over 200 dead. The growth of non-European unions in the 1940s was dramatic and for the very first time the interests of African mineworkers were on the table. Their demands threatened the very foundations of the cheap labour system, and so in 1944 Prime Minister Jan Smuts tabled the War Measure 1425 preventing a gathering of 20 or more on mine property. Despite these difficulties the union pressed on and in 1946 they approached the Chamber of Mines with their demand for wage increases. A letter calling for last minute negotiations with the Chamber of Mines was, as usual, ignored.
By August 12th tens-of-thousands of black miners were on strike from the East to the West Rand. The state showed the utmost brutality, chasing workers down mineshafts with live ammunition and cracking down on potential sympathy strikes in the city of Johannesburg. By August 16th the state had bludgeoned 100,000 miners back to work and nine lay dead. Throughout the four-day strike hundreds of trade union leaders were arrested, with the central committee of the Communist Party and local ANC leaders arrested and tried for treason and sedition. The violence came on the cusp of the 1948 elections, which would see further repression and the beginning of the country's anti-communist hysteria.
National Union of Mineworkers Poster on Fortieth Anniversary of 1946 Strike.
While it did not succeed in its immediate aims, the strike was a watershed moment in South African politics and would forever change the consciousness of the labour movement. Thirty years late Monty Naicker, one of the leading figures in the South African Indian Congress, argued that the strike “transformed African politics overnight. It spelt the end of the compromising, concession-begging tendencies that dominated African politics. The timid opportunism and begging for favours disappeared.”[4] The Native Representative Council, formed by the state in 1937 to address the age old ‘native question,’ disbanded on August 15th and ANC president Dr. A.B. Xuma reiterated the demand for “recognition of African trade unions and adequate wages for African workers including mineworkers.”[5]
The 1946 mineworkers strike was the spark that ignited the anti-apartheid movement. The ANC Youth League's 1949 Program of Action owes much to the militancy of these workers as does the Defiance Campaign of the 1950s and the emergence of the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) in the 1960s.
It is too early to say what sort of impact the current Lonmin strike will have on South African politics, but it seems unlikely that it will be as transformative as those of the past. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), arguably the heirs to the 1946 strike are currently engaged in a series of territorial disputes with the breakaway Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). Meanwhile COSATU's muted response has echoed the ANC's line of equal-culpability and half-mast public mourning. The increasingly incoherent South African Communist Party has called for the arrest of AMCU leaders with some of its so-called cadres defending the police action. Former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema's plea for miners to hold the line and form a more militant union reek of political opportunism.
Still Dependant on Cheap and Flexible Labour
What no one has dared to say, aside from the miners themselves, is that the mining industry remains dependant on cheap and flexible labour, much of it continuing to come from neighbouring countries. This has historically been the source of most miner's grievances. A recent Bench Marks Foundation study of platinum mines in the North West province uncovered a number of factors linked to rising worker discontent in the region. Lonmin was singled out as a mine with high levels of fatalities, very poor living conditions for workers and unfulfilled community demands for employment. Perhaps most significant is the fact that almost a third of Lonmin's workforce is employed through third party contractors.[6] This form of employment is not new in the mining industry. In fact, since minerals were discovered in the 19th century labour recruiters have scoured the southern half of the continent for workers. The continued presence of these ‘labour brokers’ on the mines and the ANC's unwillingness to ban them – opting instead for a system of increasing regulation – is the bloody truth of South Africa's so-called ‘regulated flexibility.’
There are a number other findings from the Bench Marks study that are worth mentioning as they illuminate some of the real grievances that have been lost amid photos of waving pangas. The number of fatalities at Lonmin has doubled since January 2011, and the company has consistently ignored community calls for employment, favouring contractors and migrant workers. A visit by the Bench Marks Foundation research team to Marikana revealed:
“A proliferation of shacks and informal settlements, the rapid deterioration of formal infra-structure and housing in Marikana itself, and the fact that a section of the township constructed by Lonmin did not have electricity for more than a month during the time of our last visit. At the RDP Township we found broken down drainage systems spilling directly into the river at three different points.”[7]
In fact, the study predicted further violent protests at Marikana in the coming year. The mass dismissal of 9000 workers in May last year inflamed already tense relations between the community and the mine as dismissed workers lost their homes in the company's housing scheme.
Once again, these facts are hardly new in the world of South African mining. Behind the squalid settlements that surround the mineshafts there are immense profits to be made. In recent years the platinum mining industry has prospered like no other thanks to the increased popularity of platinum jewellery and the use of the metal in vehicle exhaust systems in the United State and European countries. Production increased by 60 per cent between 1980 and 1994, while the price soared almost fivefold. The value of sales, almost all exported, thus increased to almost 12 per cent of total sales by the mining industry. The price rose so dramatically throughout the 1990s that it is on par with gold as the country's leading mineral export.[8] South Africa's platinum industry is the largest in the world and in 2011 reported total revenues of $13.3-billion, which is expected to increase by 15.8% over the next five years. Lonmin itself is one of the largest producers of platinum in the world, and the bulk of its tonnage comes from the Marikana mine. The company recorded revenues of $1.9-billion in 2011, an increase of 25.7%, the majority of which would come from the Marikana shafts.[9]
For risking mutilation and death underground workers at Marikana made only 4000 Rand, or $480 a month. As one miner told South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper that, “It's better to die than to work for that shit ... I am not going to stop striking. We are going to protest until we get what we want. They have said nothing to us. Police can try and kill us but we won't move.” These expressions of frustration and anger could be from 1922, 1946 or today. They are scathing indictments of an industry that continues to treat its workers as disposable and a state that upholds apartheid's cheap labour policies. •
Chris Webb is a postgraduate student at York University, Toronto where he is researching labour restructuring in South African agriculture. He can be reached at christopherswebb_AT_yahoo.ca.
Notes:
1. Monty Naicker, “The African Miners Strike of 1946,” 1976.
2. Ruth First, “The Gold of Migrant Labour,” Spearhead, 1962.
3. Ruth First, “The Gold of Migrant Labour,” Spearhead, 1962.
4. Monty Naicker, “The African Miners Strike of 1946,” 1976.
5. Dr. A.B. Xuma quoted in Monty Naicker, “The African Miners Strike of 1946.”
6. The Bench Marks Foundation, “Communities in the Platinum Minefields,” 2012.
7. The Bench Marks Foundation, “Communities in the Platinum Minefields,” 2012.
8. Charles Feinstein, An Economic History of South Africa, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, 211.
9. Marketline Advantage Reports on South Africa's Platinum Group Metals, 2011.
Global Research Articles by Chris Webb
Labels: APARTHEID, LABOUR, MASSACRE, MINIMUM WAGE, MINING, SACP
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COMMENT - Who on earth is asking Situmbeko Musokotwane for his opinion? He is a corrupt loser and moron. Whatever happened to the 1230 bicycles that were found at his residence? This is the same idiot who got rid of the windfall tax, losing Zambia hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Who never demanded that ZCCM-IH actually received dividends on the shares they hold. And they're going back to him for advice? He should be in prison. He is a criminal.
Withdraw minimum wage SI – Musokotwane
TIME PUBLISHED - Friday, August 10, 2012, 12:37 pm
Former Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has asked government to withdraw the Statutory Instrument on the revised minimum wage and engage in negotiations. Mr. Musokotwane said the revised minimum wage has the potential to negatively affect foreign investment in the country.
He said one of the factors for foreign investors is a low cost of labour adding that with the imposition of the high wages on employers, potential investors will hold their investment in Zambia on account of an expensive labour market.
The former cabinet minister said if the status quo continues, Zambia’s economic growth will stall as investors will shun the country.
Mr.Musokotwane said the Patriotic Front government has failed to put money in people’s pockets but that they have resorted to imposing wages on employers as a way of empowering people.
Mr. Musokotwane pointed out that the ongoing anger in the labour market which has resulted in protests by employers has been created by the PF government and needs an urgent solution.
[QFM]
Labels: MINIMUM WAGE, SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE
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A Chinese miner killed by Zambian employees in a minimum wage riot
TIME PUBLISHED - Sunday, August 5, 2012, 1:03 pm
A Chinese miner at the embattled Colum Coal mine in Sinazongwe has been killed by Zambian miners in a riot while another one is battling for his life in Mamba hospital.
ZANIS’s Mike Munkombwe Reports that The miners rioted on Saturday to protest against delays by management to implement the newly revised minimum wage. Southern province deputy Police Commissioner Fred Mutondo has confirmed the killing of the Chinese national BUT could not give further details on the matter.
And Sinazongwe district commissioner Dodo Sindaza and Sinazongwe area member of parliament Richwell Siamunene have also confirmed the killing in separate interviews.
Mr Sindaza has identified the deceased as Wu Shengzai aged, 50.
The deceased died on the spot after being hit by a trolley that was pushed towards him by the rioting miners as he ran away into the underground where he wanted to seek refuge.
The miners who refused to work had mobilized themselves and started beating up fellow miners found working.
Mr Lungu said that there will be no sacred cows in enforcing the law and appealed for maximum restraint from workers and employers as government re-visits issues surrounding the revised minimum wage.
And Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu has said that Zambian miners that have killed a Chinese national at the Collumn Coal Mine in Sinazongwe will be prosecuted.
Mr Lungu said that there will be no sacred cows in enforcing the law and appealed for maximum restraint from workers and employers as government re-visits issues surrounding the revised minimum wage. Mr Lungu was speaking in an interview with ZNBC news in LUSAKA on yesterday.
Meanwhile, Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda has called for a thorough investigation into the matter saying the murder is unfortunate and regrettable. Mr Shamenda has wondered why the embattled Collumn Coal mine continues to be a place of tension between Zambian workers and Chinese investors.
ZANIS
Labels: CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, MINIMUM WAGE, STRIKE
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Malawi increase minimum wage rate over 100 percent
By Malawi News Agency
July 27, 2012
Domestic workers should now smile as government has stipulated that their daily rate of payment should no longer be K178.25 but K317. The District Labour Officer for Blantyre, Frank Adini disclosed that the law on the new daily pay has already been gazetted. “With effect from July 1, 2012, the minimum wage is K317 per day,” said Adini.
He said the decision was made by a forum comprising representatives from trade unions, employer organizations, Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA) and Ministry of Labour.
Adini: Minimum wage up
“You need to manage an employee. Those who cannot afford to pay their domestic worker the rate of K317 per day should not dare to engage one, because it is now considered as a crime not to do so.
“Paying a domestic worker less than what government has set up is a violation of their rights and you could be sued, “said Adini.
A renowned private recruitment and training organization of domestic workers in Blantyre, Seka Agency said in a separate interview that this would not affect business as most of its clients were already paying their graduates a minimum of K7,000 per month.
“Eight thousand two hundred forty two Kwacha is not far from K8, 242. Our clients will understand the economic situation,” said Rose Sekanawo Tambala who is the owner of Seka Agency.
The Employment Act empowers the Minister of Labour to revise the minimum wage for domestic workers after consultations with stake holders.
Labels: MINIMUM WAGE
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COMMENT - Employers and business owners will always cry to high heaven whenever a law is introduced that might even look like it would reduce their profitability. We need a minimum wage that is at or above the cost of living, which is about $600 per month.
Bulldozing on minimum wage may raise conflict - Chitala
By Henry Sinyangwe
Mon 23 July 2012, 07:30 CAT
DR Mbita Chitala says it is unwise and unlawful for any one party to bulldoze its opinion on the minimum wage as it may raise unnecessary conflict and instability in the country.
Commenting on the recently-announced minimum wage by the government, Dr Chitala, who is
Zambia Research Foundation (ZRF) executive director, said the coming up with the minimum wage required consultation with various stakeholders so as to ensure that all opinions are considered on the issue.
"The process requires consultation between the unions, employers and the state," he said in an interview.
The government over a week ago announced the revision of minimum wages for general workers, with domestic employees and shopkeepers' wages increased to K522,000 and K1.1 million per month, respectively, among other changes
Dr Chitala said the new minimum wage in its present form would be resented by employers, who would also find other ways of avoiding it such as reverting to casualisation or reducing their labour force.
"The clever approach is to introduce the measures progressively over time and use the minimum wage regulation as a threshold to morally persuade employers to practice," he said.
Dr Chitala said this would also help workers to bargain meaningfully.
He said it was wrong for authorities to scare employers that if they did not adhere to the policy announcement, they would face prosecution.
"The policy announcement is progressive but it is wrong to criminalise it," said Dr Chitala.
The Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) has since asked for a review of the minimum wage which they say should be done through a tripartite consultative labour council consisting the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), ZFE and the Ministry of Labour.
In its grounds of applications of appeal to labour minister Fackson Shamenda, ZFE submitted that the minister violated part of section 3 (1) of the minimum wages and conditions of employment Act, CAP 276 of the Laws of Zambia by extending coverage of the said minimum wages of employment to sectors where wages are determined through a process of collective bargaining without consulting trade unions.
But Shamenda has insisted that the new minimum wage is meant to protect many Zambians who do not have representation through unions for their lives to be uplifted.
"What we are saying is that let us grow the economy and uplift the lives of the poor people, you don't uplift the lives of others by making somebody also get into the poverty brackets, we are not talking about reducing the salaries of members of parliament . The minimum wage is meant to protect the vulnerable who have no voice, it has nothing to do with trade unions," said Shamenda during a radio programme on Livingstone's Zambezi FM last Thursday.
Labels: MBITA CHITALA, MINIMUM WAGE
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Pay or don’t employ, Shamenda tells employers
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, July 21, 2012, 10:12 am
THOSE who cannot afford to pay the revised minimum wages should not employ domestic, shop or general workers so that they do the work themselves, Minister of Labour and Social Securities Fackson Shamenda has said.
Mr Shamenda said people claiming to be ‘too poor’ to pay maids and other workers who fall under the revised minimum wage category should do the menial jobs themselves. He said this in Parliament yesterday during questions for oral answer.
Mr Shamenda said this in response to Mafinga member of Parliament (MP) Catherine Namugala (MMD) who asked how low income workers such as teachers will afford to pay their maids following the revised minimum wage.
He replied that the Patriotic Front (PF) government has an obligation to protect the interest of all workers, especially the marginalised. Mr Shamenda said most employers can afford to pay workers the revised minimum wage but are just trying to be selfish.
He said Government has not received meaningful submissions from the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) over the revised minimum wage. “This government will not allow employers to continue paying workers slave wages. When are we going to become a humane society?
“We are aware that most of the people who are complaining get a salary of K20 million per month and 15 percent of that is K3 million which can enable them to employ six maids. And we are also aware that some people get K750,000 as an allowance for working out of town per night and yet they are against the minimum wage,” he said.
Mr Shamenda said big companies and individual entities continue to frustrate vulnerable workers. He maintained that Government has no apologies to make over the revised minimum wages. Mr Shamenda revealed that the ministry has also engaged the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to assist in reviewing and overhauling all labour laws in conformity with the prevailing living standards.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Labour Rayford Mbulu told the House that the ZFE proposed a 15 percent increment on the previous minimum wage of K250,000 for domestic workers. Mr Mbulu, however, said the Minister of labour is empowered by law to ultimately determine the minimum wage after consultations.
Meanwhile, the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Copperbelt University Students Union (COBUSU) have separately welcomed Government’s decision to revise the minimum wage. ZCTU secretary-general Roy Mwaba said the revised minimum wage is one of the tools Government can use to ensure shared prosperity.
“ZCTU has the mandate to fight for living wages and it can be acknowledged that even the revised rates of the minimum wage do not meet the tenets of a living wage,” Mr Mwaba said. He said the ZCTU does not believe that increasing the minimum wage will always lead to loss of jobs.
Mr Mwaba said the relationship between minimum wages and unemployment is an issue that requires deeper analysis with empirical evidence to show the correlation between the two. He, however, noted that there was little consultation by Government with other stakeholders.
COBUSU president Thompson Luzendi said the students are happy with the increase of the minimum wage. “We are extremely disappointed and shocked with the negative reactions exhibited by some members of the public against Government’s decision to increase the minimum wage,” Mr Luzendi said.
He said most Zambians are happy with the revision because poor workers have been exploited in the past. “We also appeal to the many poor Zambians to support the revised minimum wage and also to support the current Government on this matter because it’s us the poor people who are affected. This is a pro-poor law,” Mr Luzendi said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Labels: CATHERINE NAMUGALA, FACKSON SHAMENDA, MINIMUM WAGE
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Govt sticks to minimum wage
By Roy Habaalu and Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 17 July 2012, 14:50 CAT
THE government says it will not take kindly to threats of economic sabotage over the revised minimum wage. But the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) said implementation of the minimum wage was impromptu and had the potential to cause industrial unrest.
During a press briefing yesterday, information and broadcasting minister Kennedy Sakeni said the government would not allow any deliberate disregard of the law from those opposed to the decision. He said the government came into office on the basis of not only creating employment but making it meaningful.
Sakeni said the government was shocked at the negative reactions exhibited by some sections of society regarding the decision to revise the minimum wage upwards to mitigate workers' suffering.
He said the purpose of revising the minimum wage was to fulfil the PF's campaign promises to offer people decent wages for services they provided.
"The PF government is extremely shocked at the negative reactions exhibited by some sections of society regarding the decision to revive the minimum wage upwards to mitigate sufferings of our people. We have an open-door policy and we believe that threatening massive lay-offs or disregard of the law is not the solution. In the same regard, I wish to emphasise that this government will not take kindly to threats of economic sabotage or deliberate disregard of the law. Nonetheless, we shall determine all concerns that will come to our attention whether about the content or implementation mechanism of the revised minimum wages," Sakeni said.
He said the government was willing to discuss justified and warranted concerns on the issue.
Sakeni said the government expected to hear from genuine stakeholders in accordance with procedure as stipulated in statutory instrument number 45, 46 and 47.
And labour minister Fackson Shamenda said the government would not review the new minimum wage.
Speaking on Sunday night on ZNBC's The Interview programme, where he was appeared with Zambia Federation of Employers executive director Harrington Chibanda, Shamenda said he was consulting the Attorney General on how the law would be effectively implemented and punishment meted out on those that did not comply.
"The minister is not obliged to consult anybody to issue a Statutory Instrument Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Chapter 276 of the Laws of Zambia (3)(1) on minimum wage. I am not going to take a cab memo to a tripartite council, honestly the government does not behave like that," Shamenda said.
"As far as I am concerned, this is non-negotiable. At the end of the five years Zambians are going to judge us, not Mr Chibanda. The people who have been elected, is the government of Mr Michael Sata. Chibanda should not have the illusions that government will start tabling cab memos with the federation of employers!"
Shamenda advised that individuals negatively affected by the order may, under the law, apply to the minister for a review of such an order in which a grace period would be given.
"The person involved, a person who runs 'kantemba' can come to my office to say 'these are my books minister. What I make is this much, I can't afford this, then my economists will look at it, to see how they can help. These are things that our friends in the ZFE should be discussing," he said.
Shamenda also said anyone opposing the minimum wage was ultimately opposing the President.
But Chibanda, in what became an argumentative discussion, said the increment was a political matter and that the government never consulted partners in the tripartite labour council.
He said some members of the federation had indicated that they would cut down on jobs because they could not afford the new wages.
Chibanda said the SI issued by the minister was in contravention of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment law, which required the minister to attest only to collective agreements in any sector that were above the minimum wage.
Chibanda said it was erroneous for the minister to prescribe a wage that would cut across all sectors without consultations with the stakeholders.
"The Zambia-Farm Employers do negotiate and I know currently they have a collective agreement which is less favourable than the minimum wage, can the minister say he engaged them?" he asked.
CCZ president Moses Mwale in a statement said the church mother body appreciated and acknowledged the urgency of the government to put more money in the pockets of people as well as its policy on better wages and better lives for the people but believed the decision, if implemented, might negatively affect the poor people in Zambia.
"Employers needed to be prepared for this drastic increase in their budgets. A prorated process would have helped the employers to adjust their budgets," he stated.
"It seems to us very unrealistic to backdate the effective date of this directive to 4th July 2012 when most employers were already implementing a budget agreed upon at the beginning of the year."
Mwale feared that instead of helping the poor people in whose name the pronouncement had been made, it would be detrimental to them.
"We see more people out of employment as employers may not be able to meet the sudden demand for such huge increases in their wage bill. It is also most likely that the cost of living for many Zambians will go up in an uncontrollable manner as employers panic to raise more money to increase wages. This will have an effect of increased inflation," Mwale stated.
"A time frame for implementation would have been more acceptable in order to give employers time to adjust and to put up their sale prices."
And ZCTU general secretary Roy Mwaba said there was need for social partners to seriously discuss the issue to resolve the matter in national interest.
He said the union was concerned with the current stand-off between Shamenda and the Zambia Federation of Employers over the increased minimum wage.
Labels: CCZ, MINIMUM WAGE
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Minimum wage
By The Post
Sat 14 July 2012, 16:00 CAT
There has been an interesting debate over the recently announced minimum wages.
According to the Statutory Instrument No. 45 of 2012 signed by the Minister of Labour, Fackson Shamenda, on July 4, 2012, the minimum wage for a person engaged as a general worker, cleaner, handyman, an office orderly, watch person or guard must be K700,000 per month or K3,646 per hour.
A person engaged as a driver must be paid K1,002,386 per month or K5,220 per hour. Typists or receptionists must be paid not less than K1,085,919 per month or K5, 656 per hour. And a qualified clerk should be paid not less than K1,445,107 per month or K7,527 per hour. In short, no one in this country should be employed at a salary of not less than K700,000.
Workers have a right to a just wage. And this right obliges the employer to establish a just and fair remuneration. In the same light, the state is obliged to fix a minimum wage for the country. Such a minimum wage should be enough to guarantee to all workers dignified and decent living conditions for them and their families. In determining such a minimum wage, the following factors should be considered: the cost of living, the needs of the workers and their families and the availability of provisions for social security.
We appreciate and praise all that is being done to raise the standard of living of the less privileged people in our country. And much still needs to be done for the betterment of the lot of the unskilled worker, whose wage is generally far below that necessary for the proper maintenance of the family; for it should not be forgotten that the worker is not merely a cog in the industrial or commercial machine, but a human being, with human needs and human interests. Here, perhaps, more than anywhere else, justice must be accompanied and supplemented by compassion.
The rights of workers, like all rights, are based on the nature of the human person and on her and his transcendent dignity and among these rights are: a just wage; a working environment not harmful to the workers' physical health or their moral integrity; social security, and the right to assemble and form associations.
We are reminded in Mathew 20:4: "…so he told them, 'You also go and work in the vineyard, and I will pay you a fair wage'."
But there are challenges, there are practical difficulties in realising justice over wages. Today in this country, we have so many types of employers. Almost every one of us is an employer. A person whom the government has guaranteed a minimum wage of K700,000 per month is also an employer of another person. The challenge is how they are going to share that K700,000 and ensure that at the end of the month, each one of them takes home or remains with K700,000. This is arithmetically impossible.
We have a situation in this country where for one to go for work, they have to have a maid to take care of their children at home. And if that person is going to be paid K700,000 per month, how much are they going to remain with as employers to enable them to also take care of their own families?
What is the solution to this challenge? Do we simply ban or criminalise the employment of everyone below the minimum wage? If you can't afford the minimum wage, then you can't employ anyone! If the employer can't afford to pay you the minimum wage, then he can't employ you, no matter how desperate you are to take up that job that has a below minimum wage remuneration! Is this possible given our high levels of unemployment? But we all know that the effect of unemployment is degrading and making work available is most important
These are the challenges people are debating on radio station programmes across the width and breadth of our country. How is a lowly paid nurse, school teacher going to manage to pay the statutory minimum wage to her maid to enable her to go to work?
And the numbers we are talking about in this category of workers are gigantic, are huge. How are we going to manage to keep all these people in this type of employment at this minimum wage?
Of course, there are certain categories of employers who are today paying far below these new minimum wages when they can afford to pay much better remuneration to their workers. They are simply interested in maximising their profits even if it is at the expense of the workers. It is such employers the government minimum wages should target. Of course, the challenge here is on how to structure the minimum wage requirements so that they target those with the ability to pay and make them pay.
Where it is not possible for people to meet the minimum wage requirements, forcing them to do so won't work. We will simply have a law that is just on paper with many people not following it. And these new minimum wages are likely to be ignored by most of our people. The intention is certainly noble but the practicality of it seems to be difficult or impossible in certain respects.
Probably sometimes it may be better to leave things to the individuals concerned to agree and where there are injustices, then the state can step in to mitigate. This may also be helped by strengthening trade unions and enable them to recruit as many workers as possible. Unions which enable workers to improve their conditions should be valued and promoted by everybody in society. Therefore, the trade unions, to which the workers have a right, should acquire sufficient strengths and power.
And we end by reminding ourselves of what comrade KK said on this score at a rally in Chifubu, Ndola on January 17, 1965: "The responsibilities of trade unionism are to see that there is a decent wage, a decent life for each member, and also to see that more people are employed in the country. Trade union responsibilities do not begin and end with demanding more pay."
Labels: FACKSON SHAMENDA, MINIMUM WAGE
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Revised minimum wage is final, erring employers will be prosecuted-Shamenda
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, July 14, 2012, 2:10 pm
Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda says the revised minimum wage is now a piece of legislation which must be complied with by all employers in the country. Mr Shamenda has warned of prosecution against erring employers. He told ZNBC news in an interview in Lusaka on Saturday that the revised minimum wage is non reversible.
Mr Shamenda said that the minimum wage was arrived at after wide consultation. He has urged all employers to implement the new minimum wage to avoid getting in trouble. Mr Shamenda was reacting to the Zambia Federation of Employers -ZEF- Executive Director Harrington Chibanda who said the revised minimum wage is beyond the reach of many employers.
Mr. Chibanda was speaking when he featured on a Tv2 programme ‘Seven Dayas Today’ on Saturday morning.
And VICE-President Guy Scott yesterday assured that there will be no job losses following the upward adjustment in the minimum wage.
Dr Scott was responding to MMD Mafinga Member of Parliament, Catherine Namugala in Parliament yesterday who raised concern over the increase in the minimum wage, saying this would trigger job losses in the informal sector.
Dr Scott said that Government had taken a positive step in improving the welfare of domestic workers and others in the informal sector and that the law would prevent any job-cuts.
“What we have done as Government is the right thing, if we hadn’t created the jobs, people would still be complaining and so we are doing the right thing and I want to assure you that there will be no job losses following the changes we have made to the minimum wage,” Dr Scott said.
Recently Government announced a 100 per cent pay rise for workers in the informal sector and urged all employers to abide by the earning adjustment to improve the living standards of the workers.
ZNBC
Labels: FACKSON SHAMENDA, GUY SCOTT, MINIMUM WAGE
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ZFE head is rotten, says Shamenda
By Darious Kapembwa, Edwin Mbulo and Gift Chanda
Fri 13 July 2012, 14:01 CAT
LABOUR minister Fackson Shamenda says the executive of the Zambia Federation of Employers is "rotten" following their rejection of the new minimum wage announced on Wednesday. But CSPR says many employers may not adhere to the new minimum wage because of high taxes they have to pay to the government.
Meanwhile, Livingstone Tourism Association chairperson Kingsley Lilamono says many tour operators will have difficulties adjusting to the increased minimum wage.
During a health and safety exhibition at Hotel Edinburgh in Kitwe yesterday, Shamenda said the government's decision to increase the minimum wage was in its quest to improve the welfare of citizens.
He was reacting to ZFE president Alfred Masupha's statement that the proposed minimum wage for domestic workers and shopkeepers to K522,000 and K1.1 million respectively per month was absurd.
"The PF government is an inclusive government, we want to take decisions in the interest of all stakeholders. But the Zambia Federation of Employers, we want to improve the lives of vulnerable workers and you say it's absurd? We increase workers salaries from K250,000 to K522,000, you complain? What kind of selfishness is that? This country has a lot of selfish characters.
Next time we have the tripartite consultative labour council, you let this person Masupha come with his payslip. Let us see if he gets K520,000," Shamenda said amidst murmurs of approval from the audience. "Not everyone, but some people in the federation are very selfish.
The head of the federation is rotten, to say the least. I am forced to say all this because of the behaviour of this man. Why can't some people be like President Sata, a man of humility, a man who is considerate and a man who has a heart for the poor?"
Meanwhile, Shamenda has asked those who work in precarious environments to refuse to go for work without protective clothing.
"I appeal to all these workers, do not accept to work without any protective clothing. You will be protected," he said.
Shamenda, however, urged the Zambian workers to improve their attitude towards work.
"If you work for a Chinese company, you wake up at 04:00 hours but when you work in government, you wake up at 08:00 hours," said Shamenda.
And Lilamono said he feared for people's jobs in the tourism sector as a result of the new minimum wage.
"I see a lot of employers laying off some of the staff due to the inability to pay the required wages. Already Livingstone is affected by low tourist arrivals which stand at 40 per cent. My appeal and if it is possible, the government should allow the tourism sector to contract some workers below the minimum wage as long as they are on contracts," he said.
Lilamono, however, commended President Sata for unbundling the foreign affairs and tourism ministry, saying LTA had raised concerns when this was set up after the PF assumed office.
And commenting on the revised minimum wage, the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction expressed concern that the upward adjustment of the minimum wage may not be followed by most formal workers, who are also employers, because most of their salaries are not in line with the prevailing economic indicators.
CSPR explained that the majority of formal employees earning above K2 million, some of them who also employ domestic workers, are still being overtaxed.
"The current PAYE threshold that exempts formal workers earning K2 million and below from paying is commendable. Our concern, nevertheless, is the high percentages of the different PAYE tax the majority formal employees earning above K2 million incur," stated CSPR yesterday.
Labels: CSPR, FACKSON SHAMENDA, MINIMUM WAGE, ZFE
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Government announces revised minimum wage
TIME PUBLISHED - Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 2:27 pm
Government has finally announced the revised minimum wages and conditions of employment acts for various categories of workers following the amendment of statutory instruments order 2011 No. 1 of 2011, order 2011 No. 2 of 2011 and order 2011 No. 3 of 2011.
Labor and Social Securities Minister Fackson Shamenda said at a media briefing in Lusaka this morning that this is in fulfillment of the Patriotic Front government’s promises of putting more money in people’s pockets.
The revision implies that wages for various categories have been revised upwards with domestic workers’ wages increased from K250 000 to K522, 400 with transport allowance inclusive.
Shop workers’ revised minimum wage is pegged at K1, 132, 400 with transport, lunch and housing allowances inclusive and that the wages will increase according to the grades of employees while the minimum wage of the highest grade in this category will be getting K2, 372, 519.
In the general workers’ category which includes receptionist and clerks among others, the minimum wage for category one workers is K1, 132, 400 while that of category five has been pegged at K2, 101, 039.
Mr. Shamenda said under this order, the lowest worker will be getting K1, 132,400.
He has since signed and issued statutory instruments No. 45 of 2012 for domestic workers, 46 of 2012 for general workers and 47 of 2012 for shop workers to effect these changes.
He says the changes are with effect from July 4th 2012 when the instruments were gazetted.
The minister said the statutory instruments cover vulnerable groups of employees who are not represented by unions.
Mr. Shamenda has further warned compliance to the amended statutory instruments is not optional and that defaulting companies risk facing the wrath of the law if found wanting.
He says the ministry will therefore intensify countrywide labor inspections to ensure total compliance.
The minister has further called on the media in the country to expose any companies that will not comply with the law adding that government will not condone victimization of workers.
Labels: FACKSON SHAMENDA, LABOUR, MINIMUM WAGE
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Mining investments and social responsibility
By The Post
Fri 30 Dec. 2011, 14:00 CAT
INVESTMENT in mining are increasing in our country today. We have been told time and again that massive investments are put up in our country's mineral-rich areas. This is definitely a very good development for our country.
But in saying this, those in government have to ensure that all the investments being attracted into the country benefit the local economy and the people themselves, who are the owners of these natural resources.
We know very well that our people have continued to live on about a dollar per day; our people lack access to proper medical care and facilities; they fail to send their children to school and have little or no access to safe and clean drinking water; our roads are in a pathetic condition and need urgent attention from our government and private institutions who have the Zambian people's interests close to their hearts.
And these problems are usually prevalent in areas where we have seen massive investments taking place, especially in the mining industry.
In order for the mining industry to promote sustainable development among the poorest communities, the government must have robust and clear policies intended to redistribute revenues to benefit local communities; we must have an organised and responsible civil society that is involved in important decisions about policies, and mining companies must operate in responsible ways.
When we talk about having an organised and responsible civil society, we mean having civil society organisations that put people's interests before self, those that ensure that they champion the cause of the majority poor in our society today.
And when we talk about mining companies operating in responsible ways, we mean companies observing our country's laws that govern the industry, paying taxes that are due to the government, re-investing in other sectors of the economy and upholding the tenets of corporate social responsibility.
Although the debate around corporate social responsibility is a complicated one and opinions will obviously depend on one's standpoint, we think that it is a matter that needs serious thought, especially for those in the mining industry.
Are the investors in our country today - local and foreign - living up to their pledges on corporate social responsibility? Are they doing enough in responding to the needs of the communities they operate in? Are they paying adequate taxes to the government? And are they assisting in maintaining key infrastructure such as roads where heavy-duty equipment is transported to various mines?
While we acknowledge that the business or economic environment may not treat all businesses equally, we are aware that some corporations have done quite well in terms of realising profits.
Other than the obvious fact that a good number of multinational corporations are good at externalising their profits, we also know that in most cases, these corporations have no regard for the welfare of society.
We have seen how the environment has been destroyed, how our rivers have been polluted by some corporations, all in the pursuit of profits. We have also seen how workers have been exploited, given slave wages by most multinational corporations, all in the interest of profit making.
Yes, we know that our labour laws are quite ridiculous and in most cases mainly favour the interests of corporations.
However, it is not just a question of meeting the legal or statutory obligations. We have seen how most corporations have taken advantage of the minimum wage requirement to pay their workers very poor salaries. We have seen how some corporations have casualised labour just to ensure that their profits are maximised.
These are the areas that need serious consideration. And even in cases where some of the multinational corporations have been given tax exemptions, such gestures have not been reciprocated in terms of paying back to the community.
Today most new investors are not interested in social sectors as was the case in the past.
We have seen how not many new investors are interested in social sectors like education and health as opposed to what was the case in the past where, for instance, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, apart from focusing on mining activities, was also involved in providing its employees with education, health and sports facilities. With the privatisation of the mines, we have witnessed a decline of investment in other social sectors.
There may be arguments that these areas were not core to the mining business and this may even explain why the sale of the mines excluded previously mine-run schools, hospitals or social clubs.
But we know how much they helped ease the situation for those who were employed by the mines. There is very little regard, if not none at all, for the welfare of the ordinary Zambians living in these communities where massive investments have been placed.
There is very little effort coming from corporations in the mining sector. Only a small fraction of the many corporations in mining have significantly made a difference in terms of meeting community needs through investments in social sectors such as health, education and roads.
But as we have already stated, it would appear that businesses are now much more focused on profits only. They do not want to care much about the health or education concerns of their employees, and even communities they operate from, apart from the fact that in most cases these employees get very low wages.
There are some corporations that pay their employees exactly or just above the minimum wage requirement of about K400,000. And we should not forget that the minimum wage was at one time K95,000 only.
Some employers were not even ashamed to pay their workers as little as this paltry amount. And this is besides the fact that the basic needs basket is way beyond K2 million per month for a family of six.
It is even more shameful that some business entities were complaining about the plans by the government to adjust the minimum wage level from the current K400,000. But we know that even the present minimum wage level of K400,000 requirement is just too low when compared with the reality on the ground.
What can an individual with a family of six do with K400,000 per month? We are talking about a wage where an employee is not only expected to buy food but also to pay for their children's school fees and other needs.
Further, some companies do not want to employ on permanent basis so that they can avoid certain statutory obligations. This may not be illegal, but it is a matter of moral conscience. We think that there must be morals even in the way business is done.
We think that these big corporations should be investing not only for profits but also investing in the communities by demonstrating social concern through investments in sustainable development programmes. The corporate world should start taking centre-stage in development initiatives. This is one way in which they can help to fight poverty and under-development in our communities.
We think that corporations need to involve themselves actively in terms of improving the lives of people within the communities they operate rather than just focus on activities that enhance their profits.
And they can start doing so by firstly ensuring that they give their employees what is suitable to be called a living wage, not the slave wages that still exist in most companies.
It may not be possible for all business entities to be directly involved in community initiatives, but we think that they can contribute positively by ensuring that at least the interests of their employees are well taken care of.
However, for those seen to be involved in community activities, it should not just be a matter of window dressing simply because they have to project some positive impression to the public. We believe that the corporate world has a role to play in developing the communities in which they operate because they are part of those communities.
Labels: MINIMUM WAGE, MINING, POLLUTION
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ZCSMBA cautions over minimum wage revision
By Kabanda Chulu
Thu 20 Oct. 2011, 08:20 CAT
THE GOVERNMENT'S move to revise the current minimum wage should be done in an open and transparent manner whereby various economic sectors should be considered on the basis of its ability to pay, says ZCSMBA.
Commenting on the Presidential directive to the labour ministry to consider the issue of minimum wages, Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Business Associations (ZCSMBA) vice-chairperson Dorothy Mulwila said the government should consider the various sectors and categorise them accordingly with the size of business being a major factor.
"We acknowledge government efforts in providing decent wages to Zambian citizens but it is important to remember that minimum wage across all sectors were revised and effected in January 2011 and the industry is still trying to adjust and cope with the cost and this has led to some industries to downsize labour force," Mulwila said.
"Hence it is our concern that further adjustment to the minimum wage will have both short and long-term effect on employment as the industry will not afford to carry on with the additional costs of doing business so any move to revise the current minimum wage should be done in an open and transparent manner in consultation with the private sector."
She said there was an impending danger of a blanket cover of minimum wage having a detrimental effect on the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) if the sector was not considered on the basis of ability to pay.
"MSMEs will not be able to bear the increase in the cost of doing business and may be forced out of business resulting in an increase in unemployment, thereby affecting the same persons whose livelihood was meant to improve. And in the absence of collective bargaining, many MSMEs may no longer be able to contribute effectively to the economy as engines of growth," said Mulwila.
"Some MSMEs are already struggling with the current minimum wage which when allowances are included is more than K419,000 and there are already cases of MSMEs that are no longer in operation due to the adjustments that had to be made when the current minimum wages came into effect in January 2011."
Labels: MINIMUM WAGE, SALARIES, ZCSMBA
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ZAWA workers protest
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 07 Oct. 2011, 06:10 CAT
ZAMBIA Wildlife Authority employees yesterday protested and demanded the abolishment of the institution. But labour minister Fackson Shamenda has appealed to all employees in the country to remain calm while his ministry was carrying out the presidential directive of reviewing the current minimum wages.
A spokesperson for the workers, Teddy Lubinda, called on President Michael Sata to abolish ZAWA and let the government take full control of the institution.
"The President should abolish ZAWA and take the institution into government as stated
in the PF manifesto. Since 2000 to date, ZAWA management has done nothing apart from pleasing themselves with better conditions of service at top management," Lubinda said.
He accused the ZAWA management of failing to remit NAPSA contributions since 2000 despite making deductions on workers' salaries.
"This also includes ZAWA pension schemes. ZAWA does not provide any retirement package to the general staff while top management give themselves huge salaries and gratuity upon completion of a three year contract, while the general staff get K1,500,000 after retirement," Lubinda said.
He also accused ZAWA management of deducting money from their salaries, but that the money is never remitted.
He said institutions such as Bayport, Indo Zambia Bank, Natsave, Microfin, among others, had stopped lending money to ZAWA members of staff.
"When one goes on leave, ZAWA only provides or has a policy of paying K500,000 for 30 days. Is this normal? Where did they get this criteria? Management gets K2 million for a period of less than 10 days when they go on leave," said Lubinda.
And Shamenda said the ministry had already started working on the critical issue of the minimum wage.
He said in addition, the ministry was looking into the improvement of
conditions of service for all employees in occupations where the wages
and conditions of employment were regulated through the process of
collective agreement under the industrial relations act or where
employee and employer relationships were governed by specific
employment contracts which were attested by labour officers.
"Under the circumstances, I wish to appeal to all employees in the
country to remain calm while my ministry is carrying out the
presidential directive. We should not allow work stoppages to disrupt
productivity in our nation. My ministry remains open for consultations
from both employers and employees alike," said Shamenda.
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Labels: CHILD LABOUR, FACKSON SHAMENDA, MINIMUM WAGE, ZAWA
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Sata orders Shamenda to immediately revise minimum wage
TIME PUBLISHED - Friday, September 30, 2011, 2:38 pm
President Michael Sata has ordered for the revision of the current minimum wage which stands at K 419 000. Mr Sata says the current minimum wage is unacceptable and shameful. He has ordered Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda to immediately revise it.
And President Sata is disappointed that 15 billion kwacha is owed to civil servants in unpaid gratuity. He is further saddened that over 8 billion kwacha is owed to the Ministry of justice.
He says a commission of inquiry will soon be appointed to investigate the payments of gratuity including the payment of over 500 million kwacha gratuity to an individual sitting at the National Constitutional Conference.
He says a commission of inquiry will soon be appointed to investigate the payments of gratuity including the payment of over 500 million kwacha gratuity to an individual sitting at the National Constitutional Conference.
Meanwhile, President Michael Sata has withdrawn the nomination of Willie Nsanda and Samuel Mukupa as Members of Parliament.
The two were on Thursday nominated and appointed Minister and Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications.
The President says he has withdrawn the nominations of the two because he had over nominated by two people.
President Sata says instead of nominating eight people to parliament, he nominated 10.
ZNBC
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, MINIMUM WAGE
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