There is no road map for salary negotiations - UNZALARU
By Lovely Kayombo and Namatama Mundia
Sun 01 July 2012, 13:23 CAT
UNIVERSITY of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union general secretary Jason Mwanza says there seems to be no road map for salary negotiations between the union and management.
And the lecturers have continued their sit-in protest until management agrees to convene a formal meeting with the union to discuss salary increment proposals. But University of Zambia council chairperson Sherry Thole has appealed to the
lecturers to resume work to ensure that operations at the institution are normalised.
In an interview, Mwanza said for over six years, lecturers' salaries have depleted by 126 percent and the union is trying to negotiate for salaries that will raise what they have already lost.
He said management is being deceptive by publicly announcing that they have given lecturers a salary increment when there is nothing to talk about except for the 10 per cent transport allowance.
Mwanza said management should indicate their annual increase for this year so that negotiations can commence and appreciated the efforts being made by education minister Dr John Phiri in addressing their concerns but demanded truthfulness from technocrats handling the matter of salary increments.
On Wednesday, Dr Phiri said his ministry has settled for a harmonized approach to determine terms and conditions of services to eliminate the disparities in salaries currently prevailing among the three public universities.
UNZA students Tuesday night protested, demanding the immediate re-opening of the institution and improvement of conditions of service for their lecturers who are currently on a go-slow.
And during a meeting with UNZALARU which was also attended by permanent secretary in charge of higher education Dr Patrick Nkanza, Thole urged the lectures to resume their duties taking into account that there were some students who were supposed to go to Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education while others are supposed to go to the school of medicine with over 3,000 students expected to graduate.
"The issues and concerns that had been raised by different unions/associations at UNZA could be discussed in the respective bargaining units while everyone was working," Thole said.
She appealed to UNZALARU to call off their go slow and resume work while
negotiations with management over improved conditions of service were going on.
Thole expressed great concern at the ongoing impasse at the Great East Road campus.
She further urged the lectures to take advantage of good will of government who are actively engaged and ensuring that they facilitate for an enabling teaching and research environment.
Thole added that the government was also going to put in place two technical
committees to propose ways of systematic dismantling of all debt that would accrue up to the end of this year and also to work out a sustainable pension scheme amongst the three public universities and others to come.
She also outlined in detail the steps that the government and management at UNZA had taken to resolve the issue.
Thole explained that government's approval to allow the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education to vary its budget to allow the public universities to negotiate salary increments above the four percent ceiling using the Public Service Pay Policy had resulted in a 14 percent increment in the total wage bill for 2012, following a rationalisation and harmonisation exercise done by the Public Service Management Division (PSMD).
"While harmonisation across the three public universities was initially agreed upon with the unions, PSMD discovered that the exercise needed a lot more time since it required a job evaluation exercise," said Thole.
"The harmonisation process was now going to be phased, taking the vertical harmonisation at UNZA as phase one and the horizontal harmonisation among the three universities as phase two."
Labels: SALARIES, UNZALARU
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COMMENT - The only way they can do that, is by introducing the windfall tax, so they will have the money for their projects.
Start fulfilling promises, Chiputa urges PF government
By Agness Changala
Mon 19 Mar. 2012, 11:58 CAT [
UNZA lecturer Dr Euston Chiputa has advised the PF government to get to work and do what they promised Zambians during election campaigns.
In an interview yesterday, Dr Chiputa, who is also University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) president, said the PF's five months of being in office was enough for the new government to settle down and end its excitement.
"It's five months down the road; they must have settled down. The excitement must have ended; they should sit down to serious business. They should implement their manifesto and leave behind a changed Zambia," he said.
Dr Chiputa said PF should not forget its manifesto and begin to listen to people whose ideas were not part of the thinking before PF got into government.
"And when they get derailed, they will fall into the same trap that MMD fell in," Dr Chiputa said.
He said if PF departed from its manifesto, it would start implementing other people's agendas which may not have the interests of Zambians at heart.
Dr Chiputa said the Zambian people looked at the PF manifesto critically and voted for them on the understanding that they turn the country around and make it a prosperous nation.
Dr Chiputa said Zambians were looking up to the PF to provide leadership that would lead to the country's prosperity.
And Dr Chiputa said his members had rejected the recently recommended four per cent salary increment by the government to all grant-aided institutions.
He said the UNZALARU members were of the view that the government should borrow what is in ruling party's manifesto.
"…Which says that when the PF forms government, it will ensure that conditions of service for academic staff in public universities will be equivalent to those in the universities of the sub region," he said.
Dr Chiputa said even if the staff were offered 20 per cent, it would be far from what is obtaining in the sub region.
Labels: EUSTON CHIPUTA, PF, UNZALARU
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Failure to print ballots shows backwardness - Chiputa
By Agness Changala
Fri 02 Sep. 2011, 13:10 CAT
SENTIMENTS by President Rupiah Banda and the Electoral Commission of Zambia that the country has no capacity to print its own ballot papers are a shame, says University of Zambia lecturer Dr Euston Chiputa.
In an interview, Dr Chiputa, who is also president of the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU), said the failure by the country to print ballot papers for next month's elections was an indication of how backward Zambia was technologically.
He said it was equally shameful to offload billons of kwacha in another country to print ballot papers when Zambians could do that.
"It's an indication that we have not achieved anything in terms of technology that we can't even print our own ballot papers," Dr Chiputa said.
"We are so backward and not able to print ballot papers for ourselves, let them step down and allow other people to take over."
He said President Banda's government's position on the printing of ballot papers was a sign that they were not ready to lead the country.
Dr Chiputa said it was important for the ECZ and President Banda to listen to concerns Zambians were raising on Universal Print Group (UPG), the company that was contracted to print ballot papers.
He said an unquestionable electoral process enabled all to accept the verdict.
Dr Chiputa said ignoring the concerns being raised by Zambians on UPG was a recipe for anarchy in the nation.
He urged President Banda to listen to Zambians and do the right thing, saying failure to do so, could plunge the country into chaos.
Dr Chiputa said President Banda should not behave like Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who did not want to listen to his people.
He said leaders should learn to listen and do what people demand.
"Politicians should not think that when they are in power, they are too superior to listen to anyone; let them sit down and come up with a common stand on various contentious issues," Dr Chiputa said.
He said there must be a level playing field so that the presidential candidate who wins this month's elections will not do so fraudulently.
And Dr Chiputa said the government did not care about UNZA.
He said if the government cared about the institution, they would have given it the attention it deserves.
Dr Chiputa said the government had failed to honour its obligation of paying retirees their money.
He said UNZA in this year's budget was allocated K52 billion for suppliers, retirees and serving employees.
Dr Chiputa said out of the K52 billion allocated, only about K14 billion had been released.
He said the institution was not only experiencing inadequate funding but also late release of funds.
Dr Chiputa said the government had failed to pay retirees despite spending too much money on unplanned road projects, bicycles and chitenge materials for campaigns.
He said the union had pleaded with the government to make available the funds but nothing had happened to date.
Dr Chiputa said it was sad that UNZA was not looked at as a critical institution.
Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, UNZALARU, VOTERIGGING
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Mumbi lambastes timing of student allowances raise
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sat 02 July 2011, 04:01 CAT
It is very foolish for Dora Siliya and President Rupiah Banda to think that increasing allowances will hoodwink students into voting for MMD, says a parliamentarian. And UNZALARU says that the decision by the government to increase students’ allowances is a
political gimmick.
Mumbi Phiri, who is member of parliament for Munali Constituency where the University of Zambia falls, said it was MMD’s tired and failed practice of raising various allowances for students in an election year.
“Government only increases allowances of students, only when there are elections. As the minister admittedly said, the last increment was in 2008,” said Phiri in an interview.
“We are all aware that 2008 was a year of elections, the other one was done in 2001 and 2006. Those are all election years. So President Banda and Dora Siliya should not think we are in the old Germany where Hitler (Adolf) was using propaganda to win support.”
Mumbi said Zambians and students in particular, were now aware of the MMDs’ trickery and that they would not fall them.
“Now even people in far-flung areas are educated and aware. They know the problems obtaining in the country so nobody can be fooled,” Phiri said.
And Phiri expressed disgust at a comment made by Siliya that parents must plan their families to avoid having children they could not afford to take care of. Siliya said this when she toured the Copperbelt University recently where she made the announcements on the meal, book and project allowances for students at the two biggest learning institutions in the country.
“It’s a very big insult for Dora (Siliya) to come out and start telling Zambians to plan their families. Is it her burden if people have 10 children? She (Dora) should just pray that God gives her a husband who can give her more children if she so wishes,” Phiri said.
“Let her not interfere in other people’s families. We have very educated ministers who have a lot of children in her Cabinet. Is there anything wrong with that? Can we (Zambians) say they do not know how to plan?”
She warned Dora to desist from insulting the integrity of Zambians.
“It’s a shame that we have women with such behaviours when the country is fighting for 30 per cent women representation in positions of decision making,” said Phiri.
University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) secretary general Jason Mwanza said that the move to selectively address the challenges at the institution was politically motivated.
“They (MMD government) want to gain political mileage. They want to be seen to be doing good but as a government they should be seen to be doing good at all times. Government has responsibilities over its citizens and these should be constant without variations,” Mwanza said.
“The past four or five years the University has not had the liberty to negotiate freely for emoluments and gratuities. We have always had a wage gap. For instance the past two years, the budget for the universities has not been increased.”
He complained that there were no indications of a likelihood of government adjusting their benefits.
“This is a potential receipt for anarchy. We do appreciate that allowances for students have increased and particularly the project allowances. The students indeed have had hardships but you see the hand to assist has come too late and at an awkward time, when the needs of their parents, the lecturers are not being addressed,” said Mwanza.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DORA SILIYA, MUMBI PHIRI, STUDENTS, UNZALARU
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Collum shooters should be tried in Zambia - Dr Chiputa
By Agness Changala
Thu 28 Oct. 2010, 03:59 CAT
UNIVERSITY of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) president Dr Euston Chiputa has charged that the recent shooting incident that occurred at the Chinese-run coal mine in Sinazongwe district has exposed the country’s failure to enforce its own laws.
Dr Chiputa said it was unacceptable that foreign investors coming into the country should begin to shoot at innocent Zambians. He said the two Chinese managers should be tried by the Zambian courts and if found guilty, they should be sentenced.
“I strongly disagree with fellow Zambians who are arguing that the two should be deported. They must face the law,” he said.
“Perhaps if they were diplomats they would be deported, but they are not.”
He said it was also unfortunate that leaders in Zambia only reacted when someone had been injured.
Dr Chiputa, like many others, recalled that a few years ago, former Southern Province minister Alice Simango shed tears at the pathetic conditions under which miners were operating at Collum Coal mine.
He observed that the shooting happened because leaders in the government had forgotten about the plight of the workers. Dr Chiputa said if the problems of poor conditions of service were looked into, the shooting would not have taken place.
On some government officials who were accusing the opposition and others commenting on the matter of being political, Dr Chiputa said being political on such a matter was inevitable.
“...And all Zambians who feel aggrieved deserve to talk about it,” said Dr Chiputa.
Two weeks ago, eleven workers at the Chinese-run Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe district were allegedly shot at and wounded by managers after they protested over poor conditions of service.
Among those who were shot and wounded was 20-year-old Vincent Chenjela, a grade eight pupil at Nkandabbwe Basic School in Sinazongwe. Chenjela went to work at the mine to raise school fees.
Labels: CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, EUSTON CHIPUTA, UNZALARU, VINCENT CHENJELA
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UNZALARU asks Dora to rebuild her tattered image
Written by Patson Chilemba
Friday, July 03, 2009 3:17:59 PM
UNIVERSITY of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) general secretary Dr Fenson Mwape yesterday asked education minister Dora Siliya to rebuild her tattered image by showing leadership over the lecturers’ go-slow.
Commenting on the go-slow by lecturers, Dr Mwape said it would be extremely important for the newly-appointed education minister to take the first step in addressing the demands by lecturers and not allow the situation to deteriorate further.
"I do understand what she's going through. There are many questions surrounding her appointment. Many are not worried at Dora as a person but her appointment. She has no choice, she has to rebuild her image which has been tattered and this [addressing the current go-slow by lecturers] is the best way to do that," Dr Mwape said. "She should clear the negative perception by showing leadership over UNZA lecturers' go-slow."
Dr Mwape also joined calls for members of parliament to suspend their mid-term gratuity and channel those funds towards addressing the workers' demands, in a country that had been blighted by industrial unrest.
He said it would be immoral for members of parliament to receive their gratuity when the government had given an excuse of the global economic crunch over the workers' demands.
"The three to five per cent increment offered to us cannot be accepted. If money can be sourced by members of parliament demonstrating their leadership, that will be welcome. If there are serious concerns, it would be immoral if members of parliament are paid their midterm gratuity," said Dr Mwape. "It is important that they suspend that and meet the immediate needs. They can suspend those until the end of their term. Others get their gratuity at the end of the term and not midterm."
Unionised lecturers at UNZA on Monday resolved to start their go-slow with immediate effect until their demands are met.
Dr Mwape said the lecturers had rejected the three or five per cent salary increment given to them earlier and demanded that they be awarded a minimum of whatever percentage would be awarded to public service workers.
"Meaningful negotiations for new salaries and conditions of service should be concluded, the collective agreement implemented immediately and all outstanding contractual obligations should be paid immediately," Dr Mwape said.
Dr Mwape said the members observed that the 2008/2009 collective agreement expired on March 31, 2009 and negotiations for the new agreement could not continue because of serious impediments created by both UNZA management and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning circular of 2009 which restricted grant-aided institutions such as UNZA to adjust their 2009 salaries by up to a maximum of five per cent which has resulted in the institution offering only three per cent.
Labels: DORA SILIYA, FENSON MWAPE, UNZALARU
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