Former Communications and Transport Deputy Minister Alfred Ndhlovu has proposed that government should start paying its workers according to their level of education.
Mr. Ndhlovu said this in a letter addressed to Chief Government spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha and made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today.
He said paying workers according to their level of education would put value on education. He suggested that an employee whose level of education is below grade twelve should be paid a monthly salary of K1million while those that have attained a minimum of grade twelve should be getting K1.8million per month.
Mr. Ndhlovu added that an employee with a first University degree should be getting K4.5 million per month while a worker with a second degree should be getting K6 million per month. He said an employee with a doctorate qualification should be paid a minimum of K10 million per month.
Mr. Ndhlovu said the proposed figures of minimum salaries should be based on conservative research, adding that these should be revised and made a reality.He reminded government that salaries which most of the workers were getting were not enough to sustain them and their families.
He added that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security should take responsibility of the huge task of addressing salary disparities among government workers.
Mr. Ndhlovu said when addressing such disparities, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security should bear in mind that there were people who get as much as K70 million and K120 million per month as salaries.
He said the formal sector was well covered by the trade unions but noted that employers who did not belong to unions were the most exploitative.
ZANIS/AJN/KSH/ENDS
It should start with Ministers!
I thought this was already the case. Well, it’s about time proper adjustments were made.
about time!
minimum k10m for doctorate degree is very little. and please don’t tell me our doctors in zed make less than k10m at the moment. BTW am talking about MD’s just to be specific.
Dalitso, you don’t understand these things. MDs are supposed to make money by virtue of being critical professionals. In other words, we are supposed to create a medical system that rewards MDs handsomely considering the delicay of their profession. By ranking however, a medical doctor who has completed his/her degree is equivalent to between first degree and masters and not PhD. There are however so many specilzed Medical Doctors with masters as second degree and PhD as third degree. I hope you understand now what I mean. However K10 m for MDs is little indeed I agree.
#5 Dr Real Banda, thanks for the insight. i never thought of it like the way you put it.
very good idea but i think this guy is campaigning. Former minister? Now he has started thinking when his money is finished.I dont trust him.Why was he not advising his friends when drinking in parliament motel?
Like Nine Chale has mentioned on 2, I think something of this nature is alreadyy in place. However, it needs to be implemented to the amounts of money indicated above.
Good move and please NCC remember to put a clause in the Constitution on Grade 12 or better qualifications for both MP and President hopefuls, so that their remuneration can go well with their education. Let us not reward below par individuals with good pay as our small or young children will not take education seriously.
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Prevention is better than cure.
#8 Maestro, just out of curiosity, what is your specialisation? I have asked because you have now changed to Satellite Communication Scientist from Rocket Scientist. Or is it because you have now “settled” in German that you have become a Satellite Communications Scientist? No offence meant, just asking. #4 Dalitso and #5 Dr Real Brain, I am not sure whether Mr Ndhlovu meant medical doctors. By level of education even a PhD in Linguistics falls in the category of not less than K10m which he is proposing. Coming to your point of “we are supposed to create a medical system that rewards MDs handsomely considering the delicacy of their profession” ,what would you say about lawyers, accountants, vet doctors and engineers? Don’t they also deserve a “handsome” salary as well?
That’s what it should be although, a proper criteria should be put in place to decide how much someone gets considering both their level of education and experience in the field….
I agree with the former minister with a correction at MSc level that should be moved to K8million per month as minimum. Liato, pliz take note!
Perfomance should also be factored in, its no point paying doctorates who just sleep at work. Similarly its ok to Esther Phiri, Kalusha Bwalya etc more than 10M, thats if these guys are salaried, even though they dont necesarrily have degrees.
People should be paid according to their worth not how long they thought they should stay in school to add useless titles to names. If a job requires a certain speciality thats relevant to a particular field then the person who has been through the education suited for that job should get the highest pay. It shouldnt just be just because someone overstayed to get brownie points in school then they should get more pay than people . Nothing worth knowing or relevant critical thinking is ever taught in schools . A person should be paid on their competency and experience , more importantly what skills they bring to the table.
Thats how it should be good move but i thought like medical doctors get 25 million, that what i know anyhow.
No. 9, Kamunyama, to begin with accountants are not critical professionals. You see what we have in Zambia is a colonial system where accountants especially those holding ACCA were rewarded handsomely because they were considered critical the British way at the time. However, ACCA is not an international qualification. Its only valid in the Commonwealth. Go to USA, its not recognized. You need Bachelor of Accountancy and your entry level will be somewhere around $30 K/annum. Lawyers should only make money out of private practice and not from public service. When they enter public service, they are just that “CIVIL SERVANTS”. Equally vet docs should be confortable in the public service but not rich. Its up to them to enter the private sector make themselves rich. Engineers, the…
Same. How have we utilized engineers in anycase. I agree with Slumdog Shalasomething, output should be used as a gauge to remuneration and not just titles. In otherwords, you structure your remuneration as follows. Salaries reflect titles. Additional remuneration should reflect output. You will then begin to see a structure where many people holding useless titles get less pay than those without just because those who do not have are producing results. If those holding titles produce too, they get extra bucks. Thats the way it should be. A lot of people in Zambia rush to earn certain titles like PhDs and they come back and begin to abuse those titles like, doing nothing and demanding a lot for themselves. Thats BS.
9 Kamunyama. On your “#8 Maestro, just out of curiosity, what is your specialisation? I have asked because you have now changed to Satellite Communication Scientist from Rocket Scientist. Or is it because you have now “settled” in German that you have become a Satellite Communications Scientist? No offence meant, just asking”, you are on the spot and no worries.
My background is Physics, but I have studied many things related to it as it is the most fundamental of all sciences.
Have a blessed day.
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Prevention is better than cure.
Kindly define critical worker. And I totally disagree that just because a lawyer is in public service they should be lumped with other professions. Its sad to think that asking for a decent living is too much for some people. What it translates to is that you expect people that get legal services from the Government because they can’t afford it to get sub standard goods. Basically, it should be that lawyers working in Government should be paid their worth while the Government subsidises the services.