‘PROTECT JOBS IN WAKE OF NEW LABOUR ACT’

EMPLOYERS

and workers must negotiate terms that will keep their institutions sustainable and protect jobs in the wake of the implementation of the new Employment Act, the Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) has said.

Among other provisions, part VII of the new Employment Act compels employers to provide housing for their employee housing, a loan or an advance towards the purchase or construction of a house.

If not, the employer is compelled to offer a guarantee facility for a mortgage or house loan on behalf of the employee or pay the employee housing allowance.

It also compels an employer to provide an employee with medical attention and medicines and where necessary, transport to a health facility during the illness of the employee.

Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, ZUFIAW general secretary Chingati Msiska said the new Employment Act was law but that employers and employers must sit down and negotiate terms in their contacts to ensure that their places of work still remained sustainable.

“Employers must go to the table and agree on the parameters and performance. As much as it is mandatory, there is still room for us to negotiate. That is law and is not arguable. In our case, even though we are not very happy, we are conscious.

“We still need to negotiate in terms of how much, for example, housing allowances and other will demands be. We must be reasonable because it is not just a matter of putting figures as it will be difficult to maintain the sustainability in these institutions,” Mr. Msiska said.

He however said downsising of the workforce was not a solution.

“I think that is not being honest to downsize because what the Act is saying is that the employer should also show some kind of leadership and also prove to motivate the workers. Whatever is good for the employer must be good for the worker as well.

“It is sad that when some employers look at the provisions in the Act, especially those things that were not provided for before such as housing allowance, employers rush to downsize. We feel that it is time employers abided by the law,” he said.