CMNT_TITLE

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Zambia (RATIFICATION: 1979)

Other comments on C095

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 12(1) of the Convention. Payment of wages at regular intervals. In its previous comment, the Committee had asked for comprehensive information concerning the overall situation of unpaid wages owed to local council employees in all nine provinces of the country. According to official data published by the Local Government Finance and Audits, as of July 2011, the overall wage debt amounted to 46 billion Zambian kwacha (ZMK) (approximately US$9.2 million). In its last report, the Government indicates that apart from giving grants to councils in order to resolve the wage crisis, it has re-established in April 2010 the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) to take over some functions of councils in matters relating to employment and workers’ welfare and has also allowed councils to retain 100 per cent of the revenue collected on liquor and trade licences effective 2012 while previously 90 per cent of such revenue was remitted to the Central Government. The Government also indicates that these measures were adopted through social dialogue between the workers’ union and the councils’ management. The Committee understands that serious problems of accumulated wage arrears are also experienced by teachers and health workers. Recalling the importance of closely monitoring the evolution of the situation by collecting reliable statistical information, the Committee requests the Government to transmit all available information on the total amount of outstanding payments, wage sums settled, the sectors of economic activity and approximate number of workers affected, and the average delay in the payment of wages. The Committee hopes that the Government will intensify its efforts in order to eliminate the accumulated wage debt and accordingly requests the Government to provide detailed information on any new measures or initiatives taken to this end.