Friday, March 29, 2024

Government has revised the minimum wage upwards for domestic, shop and general workers

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Labour Minister Hon. Joyce Nonde Simukoko
Labour Minister Hon. Joyce Nonde Simukoko

Government has revised the minimum wage for domestic, shop and general workers in the country upwards with effect from September 10, 2018.

The minimum wage and conditions of employment act 276 of the laws of Zambia have been revised following issuance of statutory instruments no 69 of 2018 covering domestic workers, statutory no 70 of 2018 covering shop workers and statutory no.71 of 2018 provides for general application of all protected workers.

ZANIS reports that Minister of Labour and Social Security Joyce Simukoko said the new wage structure was arrived at on May 18 2018, following extensive consultations and consensus with stakeholders.

Mrs. Simukoko announced that domestic workers will now receive a gross salary of K993.60 from K522.40 while minimum wage for grade 1 shop workers and general workers has risen from K1, 132 to K1, 698.60.

She said the revision of the minimum wage is long overdue as the last revision was done in 2012.

Mrs. Simukoko has sternly warned employers that they will face the wrath of the law if they refuse to pay the new structure of remuneration.

She commended employers already paying well above the minimum wage and urged them not to reduce employees’ wages to meet the minimum wage as it is against the law.

Mrs. Simukoko urged employees to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Labour Laws as well as the minimum wage and conditions of service to avoid being exploited by employers.

She advised employers to abide by the provisions of the labour laws.

Mrs. Simukoko said under the revised minimum wage and conditions of service, government has provided a flexible system to enable an employer enter into an agreement with an employee to hire for a specified number of hours in the event that the employer is unable to pay the minimum wage.

The minister stated that the new statutory instruments are aimed at achieving government efforts of alleviating challenges faced by vulnerable workers to exploitation who are not represented by any trade union.

Mrs. Simukoko said government will ensure that the minimum wage is revised regularly and will soon come up with minimum wage for sectors starting with agriculture.

39 COMMENTS

  1. It’s easy to make pronouncements like this, but…..
    does our economic environment permitting that? Where will those “teachers” for example who gets K3,900 basic with a food basket of over K5,000 gets a K994 for a maid? After all he has to pay the TCZ colossal sums of money as well. Moreover, the borehole tax is pending.

    • For one to employ a domestic worker that means they can manage to pay them regardless of whatever comes the way. You can never employ a domestic worker if you know that at one point in time there will be increments in terms of salary. If you’re a teacher and you employ a domestic worker then you are not fit to be a teacher because your thinking is literally illiterate.

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  2. Madam You do realise that most domestic workers are employed by people who are also employees somewhere else…. Now ask yourself if at all there has been wage increments even of civil servants. You seem to want these people to start losing jobs already people are preferring Zimbabweans for being “cheaper”. Please don’t do things in isolation look at the whole situation. The increasing inflation isn’t helping too

  3. 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…

    • In reply to your comment i would like to ask one simple question…. if you know that you get k4000 why go through all the trouble to hire a domestic worker when you cannot fend for yourself and your family a satisfying lifestyle?

  4. 150% INCREASE- PLEASE CAN ALL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES DEMAND THE SAME INCREASE ! IN AN ECONOMY THAT HAS NO MONEY IT HOW CAN ANYONE AFFORD THIS AMOUNT. I CAN SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOSING JOBS !

  5. Very funny hahaha,not even a unionized employee would get such a salary increment.Provide descent jobs not these Chakana investors you are busy praising.

  6. When making such pronouncements tie them to the performance of the economy.Nobody is against raising the living standard of the less privileged but dont kill the cow because there will be no milk. PF is good for two things only- borrowing loans from china with no pay back plan and introducing taxes. What a lousy bunch they are.

  7. why are people complaining? do they think their workers have no families to feed that they can pay them less money? pleases minister you should even visit hotels and lodges on the copperbelt and see the money they get ,its less money that we cant even afford rent and basic needs.

  8. Add the same amount to all the workers in Zambia then we can as well make the increments to them otherwise am firing both my garden boy and maid, I have nothing to lose, latest today.

  9. well, we have just promoted the South African and other countries industries, cost of production in Zambia goes up, cost of imported products same, so now competing with imported products becomes harder, not to mention the smuggled goods coming into the country, rampantly……

    brace for huge job losses in all areas, from the moderate civil servant that can’t now afford to pay the maid, to large industries. where cost of production has increased,

    no doubt an increment was well overdue, and no doubt the cost of living is high in Zambia, but there are other areas that go hand in hand that need to be looked at.

    Our porous borders are no hidden fact…..that effects govt revenue as well as the few scanty industries we have…..

    in my negligent uneducated opinion, we could have…

  10. I earn K7000 per month.From this I have to pay PAYE,NAPSA,VAT,EXCISE DUTY,Internet Tax,TV Levy, Fuel Levy, Road Tax, Borehole Tax, Toll gate tax,house and ground rate tax .
    Now you tell me to pay an additional K460 every month to our maid. Sad to say,this is her last month.
    I will encourage her to apply for a job with the government.
    Oh there is a job freeze in place….yaba paipa pano

  11. I’ll also removed my maid. Also I’ll reduce worker from shop then we will just get casual guy when we need.
    This is notice to my all worker.

  12. More to join street vending or loitering! I imagine scenes like “I have called for the meeting to let you know that I can no longer keep you on the job for I am not going to sustain the be reviewed salary. I’ll settle for the separation on agreed terms before then. You have been a very good employee and I’m going to miss you.” In response “Awe ba Boss, teti ntemwe ukuleka inchito pantu epo ndelishisha abana, elo nga naleka nakulabasunga shani. Mukwai kuti ndebomba pali iyo mumpela lyonse pantu lingilingi mulangafwilisha mumachushi yapusana pusana nsangwamo!” Such discussions will be among the mostly honest while the dishonesty will find opportunities in all sorts of negative vices!

  13. those of you who are complaining about the maids and garden boys of yours, don’t you think about their lives? why dn’t you work on your own unlike troubling other peoples lives and trying to sit on their rights they are also human being like you atase fire them if you want GOD has plans for them..i repeat it fire them and that’s how you are going to see
    the challenges they face mutu mayanda twenu cause some of you kuwayawafye that’s why you’re complaining over the government
    decision let them get a normal and better salary so that thy can have peace in their minds……….ifyabupuba
    ba kolwe mufwayafye ukulaisekesha

  14. Mwebana ba sonka or sons of snakes???? bakaitemwe , you are exploiting the poor people who belong to God with unbalanced scale . If you don’t have money don’t employee people , God will look after them and He has never failed , *****s .

  15. Congratulations to the labour ministry and PF government for considering voiceless and majority poor Zambians who are wallowing in poverty-stricken not because they don’t work but because of their selfish masters .The clergy men have forgotten to speak for the voiceless and the majority poor Zambians . Where is your faith you people ? you are not like Martin Luther but like mwakoles feeding on the dead bodies .

  16. In this world the rich want to be more rich at the expenses of the poor. The poor have become ladders for the rich who want to go higher and higher. What’s so sad is that its not only foreigners but our very own brothers and sisters of the same roots. What a shame!!!!!!!!

  17. I can’t believe how someone who earns k7000 can be saying that it’s not enough for him and expects someone earning k900 to be very comfortable.
    Animal farm mu Zambia!!!!!!!!

    • Comment:when they say grade one shops what do they mean ,coz some shops in the shopping malls some of them are called stores and not a shop coz their big compared to a shop in kamwala ,clarification on that plz.

  18. Everyone complaining about this increments for general works are cowards and they all want zambia to be an animal farm. First of all you’re all greedy and you don’t think in a broader way of life. I will only ask you one question, if you’re a civil servant or just anyone and you clear know your income status, why do you hire domestic or general workers? The problem with a lot of the so called zambian bosses you don’t plan for the future, you just want to show off to the people that you have someone working for you. Just by the thought of hearing boss makes you feel like you can do anything wih your k4000 or k7000. In fact the increments are just so small. Lets say all the general and domestic workers should be working for a k100 per hour, are you going to manage? If i was the minister…

  19. An increment was needed however the economy will not support this for most.
    Employers will have to scale down and probably demand more productivity from workers which in itself is not a bad thing.
    Sad thing will be that many will lose their jobs as a result though.
    Looks as though it’s a trip to collect a long lost cousin from the village in order to help out around the house and place maids or gardeners on part time if people can’t afford. But please educate your village relations in return let’s not exploit simply because you can. You have to think it is simply a lack of good education that had us paying what we would in a day to European maids what we pay in a month.

  20. Comment: The increment to domestic,shop and general works its fine ..The government need also need to increase the minimum wage to servants…so that’s we balance up our economy.

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