Friday, March 29, 2024

Government almost doubles minimum wages, domestic workers to earn close to K1, 000

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(COMACO) Community Markets for Conservation workers parking peanut better after processing in the plant at (COMACO) officers

Government has revised upwards the minimum wages for workers not represented by trade unions.

Labour and Social Security Minister Joyce Nonde Simukoko, announced at a press briefing that the minimum wages have been revised following a tripartite consultative meeting held on May 18 2018.

Mrs. Simukoko explained that during the consultative meeting, it was agreed for the introduction of new Statutory Instrument on minimum wages.Mrs. Simukoko says the new minimum wages are meant to achieve government’s agenda of addressing challenges affecting un-unionised workers.

Mrs. Simukoko says the new minimum wages are to be effected on 10th September 2018.

She said the revision implies that wages for various categories have been revised upwards with domestic workers’ wages increased from K522.4 to K993.60 with transport allowance inclusive.

Shop workers’ revised minimum wage is pegged at K1, 698/60 with transport, lunch and housing allowances inclusive and that the wages will increase according to the grades of employees while the minimum wage of the highest grade in this category will be getting K3, 558.9.

In the general workers’ category which includes receptionist and guards among others, the minimum wage for category one workers is K1698.60 while the highest category is at K3, 151.61.

Mrs. Simukoko has since urged employers to ensure they abide by the new law.

38 COMMENTS

    • Typical of these Populist F000ls …. they have no systemic view of issues .. always one dimensional in their policy thought and implementation. Always fyalaisova eko tuleya!

    • They are receiving bribes of $30 million from China they think their govt has got a windfall…forgetting that they are increasing the cost of doing business…only China man will thrive in Zambia selling cheap imports and China Bank assisting!!

  1. This useless govt and its lazy ministers…they are introducing taxes and increasing salaries of the help but have imposed a wage free on civil service.
    Ministers and MPs need to have their allowances cut so they also feel the pinch.

  2. RIDICULOUS – THERE WILL EITHER BE MASS LAYOFF OF PEOPLE OR COMPANIES WILL HAVE TO INCREASE COMMODITIES BY 100 % IN ORDER TO STAY AFLOAT. THIS DECISION WILL AFFECT ALL ZAMBIANS ESPECIALLY THE POOR AS PRICES WILL INCREASE. THIS GOVERNMENT IS ONLY INTERESTED IN WINNING ELECTIONS. THE ECONOMY IS IN A MESS, AND WITH UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES WHICH ARE GOING TO RISE, AND PRICE INCREASES OF COMMODITIES WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT THE ECONOMY WILL BE IN A BIGGER MESS !!!!!!!

    • As Pilato was right on Muvi TV when stated African govts prefer you to be poor so they can bribe you easily with Chibuku, t-shirts and silly music..and it works…even those daft bloggers who post nonsense here will be hit hard..

  3. Madame Simukoko, do you know what you are doing? or is it a case of the PF government is working? The bussiness person is already over taxed, the bussinesses are slow and the money in circulation is low. The solution to this madness of trying to pass the buck is going to result in an increase of unemployment as even the employer is feeling the burden of meeting monthly expenses. So madame hope you have an alternative for income to all the people this increase in wages is going to affect. Enough is enough we are going to fight back as too much has been heaped on the heads of Zambians.mass unemployment is coming your way and i am talking about 75 percent job losses.

  4. Tribal Lazy Jay Gay and other tri.bal ilk, lets have constructive suggestions please? I believe this comes from a tripartite consultative process of GRZ, ZFE and ZCTU. No ruling or opposition party including triba.l upnd as involved. upnd has to turn itself into a ruling party if they are to join the tripartite as GRZ. But as it remains a trib.al party they will have to wait until 2099 to form government. Lazy Jay Gay, if you want it earlier, tell your triba.l twin Hacks to apologise for being there due to trib.e.

    • If you read my comment you wouldn’t ask about suggestions….how old are you? You people keep repeating the same thing all the time, same script tribal, party, UPND….same thing you are like a Parrot just mirroring everything other bloggers are doing even your name says it all.

  5. And triba.l Lazy Jay Gay, what is wrong with you paying your domestic help K993 anyway? Are you telling me that you and triba.l Hacks actually pay K533? And of course those are your trib.emates. What’s the matter with you kanshi, tri.balism is not enough?

    • You still dont get it do you? You dont see the domino effect here …no wonder you are as thick as two planks…keep talking about your usual claptrap…you simpleton!!

  6. Kubweka, very selfish!You must be one of those business people who are exploiting the poor Zambian general workers.You are the ones who tell foreign companies to Zambian worker peanuts and then blame these companies during the day.This is not being patriotic.Some of these business people are politicians who exploiting fellow Zambian who they employed.Well Joyce Nonde Simukoko!! Don’t forget where you have come from- labour movement, although it’s very difficult to balance this as you have defend government policies and pronouncements!Once more well done and keep it up!!

    • @ROKA, what on earth are you talking about. I am being real. IF for example I am a civil servant earning a low wage , how then can I pay my worker a third of my salary and pay electricity water rentals and transport to work. What I am saying in plain English is that many people will be laid off as the salary hikes are too high. The Zambian bussiness person is already heavily taxed . I have seen this salary hike not too far back and quite a few people lost their jobs. As for foreigners capitalizing on us Zambians blame the government for that as they are the ones allowing us Zambians to become slaves in our own country. Thank you and hope you understand this now.

  7. A good government cares for its vulnerable citizens. Tri.bal and directionless upnd is not in government but has already given a glimpse of its characteristics…..which are horr.ible and frighte.ning to any normal citizen except one who has a tri.bal brain like Lazy Jay Gay and his twin brother Spaka who has not hidden his trib.alism.

    • “A good government cares for its vulnerable citizens!!!”
      You are either very ignorant or just a silly young lad like that boy Sharon….there is absolutely no sense in your post even the tribalism you talk about is alien to me I grew up in the 90s …I don’t need to know your surname for me to like you but you still persist with this nonsense of tribal and linking people with opposition because you cannot engage me as a concerned Zambian which will require you to think and employ all your faculties.

      NB. This is the very last time I will ever respond to you like I don’t respond to the other lad….you have nothing to offer here.

  8. How much are the bosses to the domestic workers earning???you have a teacher earning 4000, employers a maid to get 950, they have to rent a house and buy food and pay school fees for their kids….and hospital bills which are inevitable with all this low living standards….but someone expects them to be by office in time…..how is that possible….coz in this case they will lay off their maid and they need to have their house cleaned and kids taken care of before going for work….People are getting more and more stressed with these uncoordinated decisions being made…..which shops can pay such amounts….maybe they should just come out and specify and given shops should be paying this much…we are cowards that’s why….it’s a matter of just mentioning them….the likes of shoprite…

  9. This is how it worked in Econ101

    If your GDP output grows at 4% you can afford to give a 4% per annum wage increase.

    If you give a 10% increase, the supply of money becomes in excess of economic output, and leads to higher inflation. More paper money chasing a constant supply of output.

    The answer is to grow your GDP. China and India knock 6% to 7% GDP. They climb out of poverty fast

    A 4% gdp in Zambia barely keeps pace with our high birth rate

  10. Guess she’s just doing her job by playing to the gallery much as impractical as such move may be. Luckily my maid understands these are decisions often prompted by cheap politicking and accepts to be paid on mutual agreement

    • Really laughable ..Do you know what an Statutory Instrument is…whether its mutual agreement or showing your payslip of peanuts ..you are breaking the law!!

  11. More people will end up on the streets. People will fire maids and just double work for one person to earn this zmk990. I really don’t need a maid but I keep her for humanitarian reasons. So I will just fire her. Shop owners will now just hire half the workforce. Populist policies like this are not even thought ought. Ba Joyce, mwa teNA!

  12. Good move Ba Minister. Capital must share money with Labour in line with Pf and sane peoples’ desire.

    Get this, rate of return on investment in Zambia is super huge. Payback period is as low as 1 year compared to at least 10 years in US and the like. Why should anyone who owns a Range Rover or any car worth more than US$50,000 not pay workers at least K2,000 per month? Greed is inhuman. Money is not an under-five toy to keep ati mine, mine!!! Just as the naysayers pontificated last time the minimum wage was introduced, no businesses will close. Just the obese profits will. And maybe less drinking of the Jamesons to fund the increments for domestic workers which is a good thing.

  13. This is what happens in a society when fools take the center stage, it only promotes substandared behaviours. Now you can see for yourselves they have messed our economy and thinks that just by dreaming peoples lives will improve. Work on the economy because revised minimum wages are still to little for some one to live a decent life. Are you now telling us that you have no capacity to create meanigful employment to your dununa reverse dancers and you want to shift your responsibily on others? Fine I will pay my domestic workers the revised minimum wage on condition that they vote for change in 2021so that they can have a government that will not reduce them to the levels of domestic workers, but give them sustainable jobs. Remaing a domestic worker is very risk when your boss is a civil…

  14. Yayayaya what a time we live in now, I’m even admiring our friends who grew up in 70s,80s and 90s, for thing back then where chiper compared now. The just shall live by faith, government is trying by all means to buy peoples minds with anything comes their way, but I tell you. That’s not good governance, Couse its decisions are impulsively made without thinking nor caring about the venerable citizens out there. Lets think positively, by elections have become the order of the day, misappropriation of public fans every time. Pa zed Si vintu.

  15. Now, all my kids will spend the whole day at school. Its cheaper. Instead of paying the nanny 1000 i ll top up 500 and pay the school so that my child stays in school. That way the house remains clean, lower water and electric bills.

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