Judiciary and Allied Workers Union of Zambia President Peter Mwale has called on the PF government to rescind its decision to maintain the “stupid” wage freeze or risk having a countrywide protests in the judiciary.

And Mr. Mwale has described Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda as the worst Labour Minister the country has ever had.

Speaking when he featured on Muvi TV’s the Assignment program on Sunday Mr. Mwale said it was unfair for poor workers who have already sacrificed enough to continue doing so when Ministers and other senior Government Officials such as Permanent Secretaries are not doing so themselves.

Mr. Mwale said the wage freeze should not be maintained because the cost of living has gone up and the increment public workers got in September 2013 has been over taken by events as commodities and services such as electricity, water and transport have all doubled since the last salary hike.

“Do you know that Ministers, Deputy Ministers and PSs are getting a lot of money. In terms of housing allowances a Minister gets about 9000, a Deputy 7000 and a PS gets about 17000 fuel allowance per Month and on top of that they have two official Vehicles one for the Minister and the other one for the family and that is just talking about fuel and maintenance now it will be very naïve and unreasonable come and call on the poor workers to sacrifice.

Why is this sacrifice always targeted at the poor worker, the lowly paid in the Civil Service? The sacrifice that is being called by government has never been genuine; it has never yield any results, we have been engaging with government and there is nothing that we as Labour leaders have put on the table that government has taken.”

Mr. Mwale further said the workers in the country will not be intimidated by threats of dismissal if they take to the streets because demonstrations are part of negotiations adding that the Labour Minister should be in the best position to know that going to the media and demonstrations are part of negotiations.

“To intimidate workers it has proved elsewhere and even in Zambia that it does not work. I know that the Minister of Labour has always come out strongly to say that protests are always not a better way of engaging government, going to the media is not the way to engage government but you see engaging government has got different points even coming to the media and talk about issues that haven’t agreed on is engaging government.

I think that Mr. Shamenda himself knows very well that engagement is not just sitting on the round table to talk about issues but also protests, peaceful protests and going to the media is also another way of engaging government so that they can listen to our demands because will spoken in the round tables, we have cried, we have said can this stupid wage freeze be lifted we have said it time and again but they have refused,” he said.

Mr. Mwale added that workers will not stand by and watch while they are treated unfairly by government further wondering why government continues to have a bloated cabinet when it claims that it does not have money for the poor workers in the country.

He said the workers in the Judiciary wwill withdrew their services and camp at Mr. Chikwanda’s office till their demands are met as talking has not yielded any results adding that a protest is the only language that Mr. Chikwanda will listen to and that it has become apparent that the PF is not a listening government.

Mr. Mwale also said the fight against corruption in the judiciary will remain a fight in futility as long as workers in the sector remain under paid further wondering how someone who is hungry can not be corrupted.

Meanwhile Mr. Mwale has described the country’s Labour Minister as the Worst Minister the nation has ever had.

He also doubted the negotiating skills of Mr. Shamenda saying ” Mr. Shamenda boasts that he was a good labour leader and that he was good negotiator I think he was not and the records are there at ZCTU to prove that.”

The Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) would like to observe that the 2015 has exhibited an improved sense of economic independence in that most of it will be financed locally. However, we express our disappointment with the failure by the Minister of Finance to positively respond to the many aspirations of stakeholders with regards to the 2015 budget.

In our case of major disappointment is the failure by the government to provide sufficient funds to enable the constitution making process to be completed. We find the K29.3 million allocated to the process insufficient considering that together with most stakeholders, we have been calling to an expedited constitution making process which is supposed to end with a referendum adopting the new constitution in readiness for the 2016 general elections.

Over the years we have noted that the electoral process has been a potential source of conflict and that measures should have been taken to ensure that genuine and honest reforms are undertaken so as to prevent electoral conflicts. With the failure to address concerns within Zambia’s electoral laws and system, the potential for conflict as a result of a poorly managed electoral system still abound in this environment and the effects could be worse than what was experienced in other African countries.

SACCORD is also disappointed that key sectors such as Health, Education and Agriculture have seen reductions in the budget allocation for the year 2015 with the construction sector receiving more funds as compared to 2014. The constructive sector has been a source of concern with the way contracts are being awarded. We urge the minister to ensure that the sector benefits all the people of Zambia.

We also feel that the budget should have had more policies that seek to sustain current jobs while seeking to create many more so that the poverty our people are experiencing as a result of lack of employment can be reduced. The major losers again are the young people of Zambia who are being ignored in terms of creating a suitable environment for them to get jobs or engage in sustainable income generating activities.

While more schools and universities are either being built or upgraded, there has not been a corresponding program on the part of government to ensure that the many young professionals who are graduating from these institutions get to be employed. While few may be employed under the health and education sectors, many more will still have to wait or survive by engaging in jobs that are outside their areas of training. We would like to remind the government that Zambia will only prosper when these professionals are put to good use. It is government’s responsibility to ensure that it provides for its nationals not only those that are its supporters and where they seek to get benefits.

While our parliament debates the 2015 budget, in the interest of the nation, we call on Members of Parliament to introduce new proposals to strengthen this budget so that it is more centered on the people.

We want to welcome the creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund as we believe that peace and prosperity goes hand in hand. As SACCORD we believe that the creation of this fund will help improve Zambia’s rating on the COMESA Peace and Prosperity Index (CPPI). We also welcome the allocation to public order as it will enable more officers to be recruited and employed which will enhance the administration of the Public Order Act and enable more citizens to enjoy their rights.

Boniface Cheembe

SACCORD