Meeting with govt fruitful - ZULAWU
THE much anticipated meeting between the Local Government and Zambia United Local Authority Workers Union (ZULAWU) to discuss and find lasting solutions pertaining council workers’ salaries went well, ZULAWU secretary-general Emmanuel Mwinsa has disclosed.
Mr Mwinsa said the meeting was fruitful though the union had not yet exhausted its negotiations with other line ministries as it is set to meet the Ministry of Finance permanent secretary.
After reports of the looming countrywide protests by council employees over unpaid salaries for the months of June and July two weeks ago, Local Government permanent secretary, Amos Malipenga said Government was aware of the prevailing situation in councils and announced that the ministry had called for a meeting with their unions to map the way forward.
In an interview with the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr Mwinsa said the meeting was fruitful and that one of the resolutions was that the council needed to improve on the collection of local revenues to enable pay salaries for workers unlike like just depending on the equalisation fund.
Mr Mwinsa said, generally what is supposed to finance council workers’ salaries is the local generated revenue adding that the equalisation only supplements.
He said the council was not collecting the revenue according to the annual formulated budget.