Labour movement described as dead

Some people in Eastern Province have described the Labour movement as dead.

Contributing to The Voice program on Breeze FM this morning, disappointed callers said the labour unions are not doing enough to assist employees who are often exploited by their employers.

The callers questioned why the unions do not make regular checks in various companies to see conditions under which most people work.

And other callers called for investigations into reports of corruption at the labour office.

They noted that some employers even boast to their workers that they would rather pay bribes to labour officers, than giving good salaries.

In response Chipata District ZCTU, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, secretary, Ronald Mbuzi, called on employees to always report any exploitation to the union.

He observed that while the complaints from workers are genuine, most of the affected do not approach the unions to lodge in complaints.

Mr. Mbuzi explained that it would be easier for labour unions to follow up matters of employee exploitation once they have reports.

And Provincial Labour Officer, Joseph Kaindama, dismissed allegations of corruption stating that whenever the labour office calls employers to their office, it is meant to get their side of the story on a particular labour dispute and not to get bribed.

Mr. Kaindama advised people, who are employed on casual basis in big companies to report to his office.

He explained that his office will not tolerate a situation where big companies employ people on casual basis.

Meanwhile Zambia Federation for the Blind provincial chairperson, Samson Njobvu expressed concern that most often, labour concerns from the disabled are not taken seriously.

He explained that concerns from the disabled, need to be treated the same way with those of the able bodied

Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *