Labour and Social Security Minister, Joyce Nonde-Simukoko, said the role of the Government was to formulate and enact laws and it was up to the affected parties to act when their rights were infringed upon.
The minister said the law did not have specifications as to who it applied to, but was universal and Government institutions were not an exception.
She was reacting to allegations from the Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) general secretary Chingati Msiska that Government had more people employed on casual basis than the private sector.
Mr. Chingati said there was need for both the Government and the private sector to understand the labour laws and work towards implementing them.
“There are more casual workers doing jobs of permanent nature in Government institutions than the private sector and this is regrettable because Government is supposed to be the first to adhere to labour laws’’, Mr Msiska said.
He said there was need for the Ministry of Labour to strengthen their inspections in companies to find out if labuor laws were being adhered to. The minister, however, said Government passed laws and the mandate for them to be effective rested upon the different stakeholders.
“It is up to the people working as casuals in Government institutions to take management to court if they are doing jobs that are permanent in nature since the Government cannot know if they do not take a step,’’ she said.
She advised trade unions to be proactive in ensuring that the laws Government passed were implemented.
How honestly do you ban casualization when the army of the unemployed is at its highest. Companies are even helping government which has failed to create employment. Companies are even doing you a favour by hiring some casuals, they cant employ every body permanently. It is not possible and also not normal.
She is clearly living in a very parallel universe…
This fat donkey does not deserve a ministerial post. Why pass laws which you cannot enforce? Please spare us the nonsense and shut up if you do not know how to run a ministry.
Nonde has stopped talking like a trade unionist. Why doesn’t she talk to Zesco management to assess how big this problem is? Instead she is throwing the case to casual employees. How many of such people can afford lawyer fees to take their cases to court? PF is a truly heartless and evil party.
In other words this Joyce is a lazy fat monkey whose ministry have no record or capacity to enforce this law within parastatal companies. This is life under pf
Minister is a joker. Do casuals have resources to sue employer? You can’t advise casual who is in a weaker position to sue the employer who is in stronger position & can hire finest lawyers to stop any litigation. Employers budget huge amounts of money for legal costs. She can’t learn from case of former Game Stores worker Mukamuluti Mwila who was misadvised to sue Palan by Inonge Wina, Fackson Shamenda, Nkandu Luo, etc when the Minister of Labour (Shamenda) had power to revoke work permit. Poor girl was grilled by Ruthless defense lawyers. Is Nonde saying that Zambian Labour Laws don’t give her any powers to intervene eg. cancellation of licenses & permits for employers locking up employees in factories & also advising lazy Zambian workers to pull up their socks.
HON. MINISTER, IT IS NOT THE DUTY OF EMPLOYEES TO ENFORCE LAWS BUT THAT OF YOUR OFFICERS
This minister is extremely dull who do you think owns those companies…if they alk go to court who pays? these Grade 12 PF ministers are taking us nowhere…look at the night ban on buses and HGVs only to get a bus company that is not susposed to be in business being involved in a road traffic accident with a truck in a head on collision.
Sorry to say this; trade unionist have never being good to work at the opposite side. History is there to refer to.This is why it is very difficult for someone just to wake up and shelf Kambwilis work culture, like him or not, corrupt or not.I’m finding very difficult to understand our Lady.I like the approach ECL takes on national issues. He admits when things are not well, simple. That is what we need from a leader.She should change.
When did Lungu admit when cops were teargasing, sjamboking and shooting opposition cadres?
Crime, prices, unemployment, are all on the incline and what has Lungu said?
When has Lazy Lungu admitted anything? You like excuses thats why…in the corporate world performance matters foools like Lax Lungu wouldnt get a job anywhere.
we miss Hon Kambwili wen he ws labour minister nt wat is happening nw were minister is sleeping in office insteady of working. We dont hv a minister us at nw.
this minister it appears will never ever be serious with her work.
Kambwili was all threats and no action. He threatened chinamen, they greased his hands and that is where he got the money to build his estates. Remember Liato? Same source. Government has no record of missing money but ministers are getting rich.
Have said it before that former labour leaders don’t make good ministers in governments because of poor judgement over national issues. Ministry of labour has instruments to enforce employers who do not conform to labour laws of the land affecting Zambians. Her judgement for all casual workers to take employers to court is not only insulting to workers, but demeaning Zambian labour laws incapable of being effective and displaying her incompetency and deficiency to manage that ministry.
My concern is why do they take a very anti – worker stance notwithstanding their past experiences? Chiluba broke up the one union per industry tradition that Unip had implemented. This weakened unions by having several unions that could be played one against the other and allowed people like Nonde who could not rise under ZCTU to create her own FFTUZ in competition. It is like you need a former trade unionist to properly screw workers.
When a copy typist begins to have an affair with the top notch boss and later migrates to the union you think shes smart when all shes done is steal another womans husband so her thinking is warped.