Thursday, March 28, 2024

Joyce Nonde Simukoko advises Labour Unions to opt for empowerment based negotiations

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

Government has called on Teacher unions in the country to opt for empowerment based negotiations instead of salary based negotiations for improved conditions of service for their members.

Labour and Social Security Minister Joyce Nonde Simukoko says this is because salary based negotiations always trigger an increase in prices of essential commodities, thereby disadvantaged the Union members from enjoying their salary increments.

Teacher unions should consider negotiating for mortgages and venture into viable ventures to empower their members so they could retire having acquired houses, farms and other properties that would enable them sustain their families, she said.

“Empowerment should be at the core of your negotiations. I have seen people die shortly after retirement not because they are old but because they are not able to look after themselves, so change your attitudes towards life and work,” said the minister.

Mrs. Simukoko said this in Livingstone on Thursday when she officially opened the Zambia National Teachers Union (ZNUT) 11th Quadrennial Conference at Fairmount Hotel.

The minister further said government took great exception to teachers involved in examination malpractices as the vice was detrimental to the country’s development.

Mrs. Simukoko cautioned teachers against leaking examination papers as the long and short-term effects of such actions had a negative impact on the country’s economy and image.

And the Labour Minister warned teacher union leaders to desist from lamenting about issues affecting them without proposing solutions.

“ I hate lamenters. We have been lamenting since 1964 and little has changed. If you are to complain, then offer possible solutions as well since doing so adds value,” she said.

Earlier, Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) President Beard Mwanza appealed to government to speedily conclude salary negotiations with the union saying his members were highly indebted due to low incomes.

Mr. Mwanza also called on government to address the numerous challenges teachers faced in accessing housing and rural hardship allowances.

“ Some of our members are living in mud and pole houses while others are in remote areas sharing water sources with wild animals but they are denied their respective allowances. Government should give them what is rightly theirs,” he said.

Meanwhile, Teaching Service Commission Chairman Stanely Mhango said the Commission managed to reactivate 1835 positions which saw teachers being promoted to various administrative positions.

Mr. Mhango said over 13,000 human resource cases had been processed since the Commission became operational over a year ago with 7,000 of those cases having been addressed in 2018.

The ZNUT 11Th Quadrennial Conference is being celebrated under the theme: Promoting quality education through social dialogue.

5 COMMENTS

  1. She has failed to peg minimum wages for construction and mining houses many months down after domestic minimum wage pronouncement.

  2. This is one of the most useless ministers around today. Imagine, she has forgotten the suffering of the workers whose plight she was pretending to be championing. Shame, now that the she is eating and getting fat everyday, she can mock those fighting for better conditions of service for their members. Nothing stays the same forever, you will soon join the bandwagon come 20121.

  3. Useless Cadre.
    Couldnt properly represent the long suffering workers of Horse shoe Restaurant, entered Horseshoe breathing Fire, left Horse shoe smiling with a brown envelope safely tucked under her armpit ba Simukoko

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