Leaders should provide solutions to problems

Dear Editor, IT is a well-known fact that Zambia today has highest levels of non-compliance to its labour laws especially among employers in the informal and private sectors. Salaries in the private sector are based on face value and not expertise from employees, leading to high demotivation and our Labour and Social Security minister Joyce None-Simukoko only knows this too well as a former trade unionist. It is true Madam Minister that most employers have not implemented the new Employment Code Act because there is absolutely no one to force them. The other thing is that leaders such Ms Simukoko should not be in the habit of lining up problems because they are in office actually to solve them. Madam Simukoko this non-compliance to labour laws we already know. But what is your short, medium and long term plans to go round the problem? The era of just saying I have this or that problem is long gone mwebantu. We are in an era of identifying, working out solutions, reviewing and revising and improving and offering innovation on solutions. Things have changed now and perhaps what Zambia needs are young, visionary and vibrant leaders to take up these jobs. Come on ba Minister, you were a trade union leader now you’re a minister, surely you can do something about this whole issue. Fix it now. We expect you to be overboard. You are expected to outclass all your predecessors in your job. From a union leader to a minister in your field and you are expressing those views? You can view your job in two dimensions if not three now because you are better placed to fix things legally. As always the problem is known but the leaders responsible fail to sort out the problems. The companies owned by Indians in my view are probably the worst violators of labour laws in the country. They keep employees longer than they should yet don’t pay any overtime. They steal away people’s leave days by paying money for less than a month’s salary and still don’t allow their workers to go on leave. For those who sign long-term contracts, they are not updated with the new changes to the labour laws, meaning people still get paid at 10 percent gratuity for expiring contracts. Indian companies need to be thoroughly checked for labour laws compliance.