Avoid emotional debates on Bill 10, labour movement urged
LABOUR movement in must not attach emotional feelings on issues surrounding the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 10, says Labour and Social Security Permanent Secretary Chanda Kaziya.
Instead, Mr Kaziya has advised the union to engage in dialogue so that their concerns can be addressed.
He said that shooting down Bill 10 would not help the nation adding it was for this reason the government was encouraging Zambians to engage in dialogue.
Mr Kaziya was speaking during the 20th anniversary of the Basic Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) and close of the 13th annual general conference held at Fairmount Hotel in Livingstone at the weekend Saturday.
“Let’s have an engagement on Bill 10, we don’t need to have emotional attachments around it,” he said.
“We need to dialogue, discuss and correct what seems not to be correct in the bill,” said Mr Kaziya.
The labour movement in the Country through its mother body, the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has been against Bill 10 since its inception.
ZCTU Deputy Secretary General Elasto Njovu made a call on all unions to reject Bill 10 when he addressed the meeting.
Mr Njovu said that the document does not mean well to the people of Zambia, and therefore, must be rejected and withdrawn.
He said that ZCTU says No to Bill 10 and will not support it because some clauses contained in it are not progressive.
Mr Njovu said that ZCTU would also not allow government to alter the Constitution of Zambia saying that it was costly.
“We cannot have a situation where the Constitution is amended by 400 people... the Constitution belongs to all Zambians,” he said.
Meanwhile, BETUZ has resolved to support ZCTU on its stance on Bill 10.