Sata’s Labour Day Speech Was Short Because He Wanted More Time Dedicated To Work-Shamenda

Labour Minister FACKSON Shamenda says President Michael Sata did not want to waste time on speeches during the Labour Day celebrations because he wanted more time dedicated to work.
And Shamenda says the past (MMD) government had leaders burying money but that the PF was there to use the resources for development and improve people’s living standards.
Shamenda, who is labour minister, said President Sata wanted people to have more time to work and develop the country as opposed to talking without yielding any results.
“If talking was an industry in Africa, Africa could have developed. Whoever says what happened on Labour Day was an embarrassment, then such a person is an embarrassment himself,” Shamenda said during a dinner hosted by the Zambia Congress of Trade Union in Lusaka on Friday.
On Thursday, during the Labour Day celebrations in Lusaka, President Sata announced that there would be no speeches, but instead directed employers to go back to improve their workers’ conditions.
He said there had been much talk in the past than action on the welfare of workers in the country.
“There will be no speeches today. Go back, go and reflect. Improve on your workers conditions of service…all the employers, go and look after your workers…” said President Sata.
Shamenda said President Sata did not see the need to have a day full of speeches when time could be well spent productively.
He said the Head of State had assigned a number of ministers to other parts of the country to explain the PF government’s message on Labour Day.
“The message from the President is particularly directed at employers in the private sector who have failed to award their workers decent wages. That is why I have directed the labour commissioner not to recommend for approval any collective agreements that are below the food basket unless she is satisfied the company does not have the capacity to pay. We are not setting a new minimum wage but we want to ensure those companies that we believe have the ability to pay above the food basket, pay a decent wage,” Shamenda said.
He said employers must take time to reflect on how they could improve the conditions of service for workers and that they should not wait for workers to go on strike before awarding them a decent wage.
The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, in its March 2014 basic needs basket, an average family of six in Lusaka requires K3,687 around February this year.
But ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba said, in an interview earlier, that President Sata had denied the labour movement an opportunity to share its views on numerous issues affecting workers.
“We were taken by surprise; we should not have prepared ourselves with speeches if that was the case. We were left unsatisfied. The climax of labour is when issues from the union are shared and government gives almost immediate responses. Now we have to wait for another 12 months for such an opportunity,” said Hikaumba, adding that it had been difficult to meet President Sata on any other platform.
Meanwhile, Shamenda said leaders in the past administration were busy burying money that could have been utilised to fight poverty and uplift people’s welfare.
Shamenda said for the first time in the history of the country, casual workers in government ministries and departments had been phased out by September 2013.
He thanked the labour movement in the country which he said had matured and partnered well with the government in reducing labour disputes through the spirit of dialogue.
“The labour movement has been supportive and contributed to the fulfillment of the Patriotic Front manifesto. Where there have been disputes, we have sat together to dialogue and arrive at a win-win solution,” said Shamenda.