Government has expressed concern at the increase of
trade unions being registered in the country.
Copperbelt Minister Davies Mwila said in Kabwe
today that the increase in trade unions was causing divisions among workers
thereby affected negotiations of salaries and conditions of services.
Mr Mwila said this when he officiated at the
International Labour Day celebrations whose theme was, “Enhancing workers’
rights for sustainable development’ at the Kabwe Municipal council grounds
today.
He said government was not happy with this
situation because it weakened the voice of the workers and implored all union
leaders to take this into consideration and to consider merging unions to pave
way for a strong union and leadership with one voice.
Mr Mwila also noted that unemployment was still
high in the country and government was determined to develop and implement
policies and programs that will focus on decent job creation for all Zambians.
He said Patriotic Front government appreciated the
warm relations and support from the workers since it took office last year.
Meanwhile, Federation for Free Trade Unions (FFTUZ)
has called on government to revise the labour laws and give more teeth to the
Ministry of Labour by taking it back to its original state as a stand-alone
ministry.
FFTUZ representative, Martin Maseka said in Kabwe
today that the labour laws should be in conformity with international labour
standards especially on freedom of association and the rights of workers to
choose their leaders in full freedom.
Mr Maseka said labour laws should be strengthened
to protect workers in the event of corporate failures, mergers and acquisitions
and the resultant redundancies.
He also said government was having sleepless nights
over strikes due to a deficiency of freedom of association as employers were
not allowing workers to join unions and freely bargain terms and conditions of
employment.
ZANIS
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