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Government announces revised minimum wage

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Information Broadcasting and Tourism Minister Fackson Shamenda (r)

Government has finally announced the revised minimum wages and conditions of employment acts for various categories of workers following the amendment of statutory instruments order 2011 No. 1 of 2011, order 2011 No. 2 of 2011 and order 2011 No. 3 of 2011.

Labor and Social Securities Minister Fackson Shamenda said at a media briefing in Lusaka this morning that this is in fulfillment of the Patriotic Front government’s promises of putting more money in people’s pockets.

The revision implies that wages for various categories have been revised upwards with domestic workers’ wages increased from K250 000 to K522, 400 with transport allowance inclusive.

Shop workers’ revised minimum wage is pegged at K1, 132, 400 with transport, lunch and housing allowances inclusive and that the wages will increase according to the grades of employees while the minimum wage of the highest grade in this category will be getting K2, 372, 519.

In the general workers’ category which includes receptionist and clerks among others, the minimum wage for category one workers is K1, 132, 400 while that of category five has been pegged at K2, 101, 039.

Mr. Shamenda said under this order, the lowest worker will be getting K1, 132,400.

He has since signed and issued statutory instruments No. 45 of 2012 for domestic workers, 46 of 2012 for general workers and 47 of 2012 for shop workers to effect these changes.

He says the changes are with effect from July 4th 2012 when the instruments were gazetted.

The minister said the statutory instruments cover vulnerable groups of employees who are not represented by unions.

Mr. Shamenda has further warned compliance to the amended statutory instruments is not optional and that defaulting companies risk facing the wrath of the law if found wanting.

He says the ministry will therefore intensify countrywide labor inspections to ensure total compliance.

The minister has further called on the media in the country to expose any companies that will not comply with the law adding that government will not condone victimization of workers.

editor
editorhttp://www.lusakatimes.com

134 COMMENTS

    • No wonder you come here to just to follow other bloggers as you have nothing to contribute whatsoever, you halfwit!!

  8. I have got four shop workers. Two have to go for me to maintain the wage bill at K2.3m per month!. My problem is all the four are voters!!

    • Iyee ba @Bull. How much were you getting before this amendment?

      These things are done relative to prevailing conditions and by taking into account many factors. You can’t just wake up one day and propose salary conditions that are out of step with the economic fundamentals of the Nation. You also have to consider the labor market in the areas covered by this amendment—you do not just pull figures out of your ass to simply satisfy a few like your type. If you wanted more, can the job market afford your demands without putting a lot of people on the unemployment line? Has the economy grown big enough to justify such an increase? These are some of the simple and obvious questions an intelligent person should ask before talking!

      Muleke ukunwa katata ba mudala!

  11. GOOD NEWS ., THOSE THAT ARE STILL MOANING SHOULD QUIT THEIR JOBS AND LET THE ONE WHO DONT HAVE THE JOBS. THE NEW WAGES ARE MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT THE M.M.D. GOVT OFFERED SO STOP MOANING AND GET ON WITH YOUR JOBS OR QUIT.

  12. Shame this is an insult en just giving the chinaman more freedom,,,,i was getting that moni in 1999 as a clerk,,,,just from school. if one can get a better job abroad,,,,that is if one completed college now ,,,,y be around zed beta use yo skills somewhere else lads!!!! Even as an enterprenuer i will pay my pipo beta,,,just give contracts en u will see,,,,

  15. like system testing you guys do understand what you ————-more unemployment – tell us about more monies in the pocket first before unemployment – cost of living as well

  16. ba fi.ka.la muletasha. if someone was getting K250,000 and will be geting K522,400. isn’t there a difference. you stupi.d idio.ts should start appreciating and give credits where it’s due. F.U.C.K YOU

  17. Means alot of pipo will be out of employment. I ve 3 meaning 2 are going. The govt must know that unskilled labour is cheap anywhere in the world and must encourage pipo to go to sch then. if its so will be cleaning our own houses & being our own bosses n workers or just engaging the family.

  19. @16 snoopy doggy doggy 

    You just cant articulate issues without insulting? Kaponya mentality. 

  20. This covers ONLY those employees who are not represented/Unionised. Chizungu. Unionised employees will go by what their unions have bargained for. GOOD WORK BA PF

  21. @Xie Xie

    Those guys make more than enough stealing from their bosses, its no surprise that the go solo after a year of grafting to run their own taxis!!

  23. A positive move.

    K522,000 for domestic workers is good as a minimum wage. I know there are generous employers who love and appreciate their workers, and have already been paying their employees around K700,000 and more.

    Thumbs up to government.

  24. This will increase unemployment. Zambia will be an unattractive destination for investors. In china the government does not set the minimum age, so investors dash there to exploit the chinese. But the clever Chinese government taxes these greed investors and ploughs back the money to these underpaid Chinese workers through spending on social investments. In the end China wins all the time.

  25. CNP must stop taking lessons from a failed state Zimbabwe. Lets learn from Asia especially, China, Thailand and Singapore. They sacrificed through low wages, but as their economies grew, it started making sense for industries to increase wages on their own. We need to grow the middle class before we start implementing animal farm statutory instrument. CNP must graduate from Ukwanomics and learn how to create real wealth

  28. So I have been overpaying my garden boy and maid at 650 pin each? I am deducting from their salaries with effect from 7 July as gazzetted by minister of labour

    • You have done well. The amendment is for the minimum wage. You can pay the a million each for all its worth.

  30. If feel it basically depends on what a family earns. so it should not be mandatory that every person who wakes up today, can say i want to be a maid and earn 522,000 , Have they been trained ? Do they have any qualifications? because usually for maid, it’s always a try and error state of affairs.whilst the employer get’s 1m. what about the Garden Boy and other bills.Much as we appreciate the concerns by our Good meaning Govt.let the move be investigated thouroughly.

  32. At Snoopy Doggy Doggy you are wrong bro/sis. What the article has missed out on is that the MMD minimum wage was pegged at K419,000 and now PF increases it by only about K103. Is K103 a great difference in your opinion? Lets analyse issues.

  33. Thats just a bench mark, it does not necessarily means that you pay exactly the minimum wage. Dont express your ignorance.

  34. more retrenchments in kamalonda’, cleaners and maid pockets muzalila dont celebrate you shall be retrenched

  35. Most of the maids are employed by our fellow Zambians who get peanuts themselves. Much as we think this minimum wage is good and that we are squeezing the chinese and the Indian shop owners to pay more to our workers, we are also squeezing most Zambian families who live on meager salaries, but employ a helper to take care of their children as they go for work.
    This minimum wage will well be meaningful if all other workers’ salaries are well increased, like teachers, nurses etc, because they are the majority employers of the maids and garden boys to whom this minimum wage mostly apply.
    Hope we dont have more lay-offs of these maids and garden boys from our homes, which would mean working mothers would have to find other alternatives of taking care of their children, 

    • These politics are getting on my nerves ! For Domestic workers this will receive massive retrenchments part of this function is as a result of messy on the part of the employer who in most cases want to assist widows & widowers.With such subjection the employers will have no choice but to do away with the house help which will result in more joblessness.
      Sometimes its not a question of pleasing voters,Surveys must be conducted.Believe you me the same pipo you are trying to please now will turn against you ba PF !

  36. you should also revise the prostitution fee ala naba dula sana especially this june they are going for K100pin short time PF do something we need K20pin shorttime.twachula fwe ba nyele

  37. Business minded people should think about openning up day-cares as they will soon be demand for them after maids are layed-off.

  38. Zambians, lets learn to say thank you when something good is done for us! Opposing aimlessly will take us nowhere! Keep it up PF, this is what we voted for!!!!!!!!!

  42. It makes a very big difference than wat the MMD were giving our people. Viva Bashikulu ba SATA, More money in your pockets.

  45. This instrument is illegal we shall petion it in the high court.the PF govt has made another illegal ddecision which will cost zambians as they will be retrenched by these Chinese

  46. Who said our government wasn’t working? Keep up the gallant work PF government only those at the lower end of the scale will truly appreciate and those on fraudulently obtained government scholarships from the old regime now stranded abroad and HH will criticise.

    • No new jobs. Only using other people money. As usual. Nothing new. By the way, how many will luse jobs bicause of state interfering in market of demand and offer?

  47. And who is going to meet this extra cost of paying these workers when govt has only given a 4% salary increment to civil servants? What is the logic ? Is PF trying to hoodwink people especially those in the lower ranks into believing that there is now more money in the pockets of workers when in actual fact not? PF should think through these popularist policies before acting or else you risk declaring these same workers redundant !! Over this , you have goofed and this will most likely boomerang. Remember, recently G & G Bakery in Kitwe threatened to close the bakery if govt intervened in the labour dispute and insisted that the retrenched workers be re-engaged ? According to the bakery owner, they coud no longer sustain a large work force. You are now risking the jobs of these house maids

  48. This is a sure way of reducing employment levels. It is mostly the middle class who employ maids now with such hight salaries, it is better to take a child to a day care centre .

  51. virgue one!!!! you must not be selective. Do you think only maids and shop representatives vote????? Dont blame HH when he rubishes this dont kubeba way of NO MONEY IN OUR POCKETS

  53. i have now seen that most bloggers on this site are here just to appose everthing and see only negatives of the pf policies. shame on you. i think you are the real CNP’s

  54. JML you are right its better than what MMD paid workers.HH Kadansa will complain soon saying its illegal.ati ba opposition yaba.

  55. You guys just pay your maids 500 pin. This is nothing ba ngwele imwe. You like seing your friends suffering atase imwe.

  56. Only very feeble minded chaps will sit down and strain their very tired brains ells and write down 10 reasons why this is bad. Those shop owners you are so worried about should do their own shelf staking if they can’t afford to pay staff instead of driving round in their posh cars, lets see how long they will do it for.

    Good job PF!!

    • This is not necessary bad but the biggest proportion of employers of domestic workers in various categories are civil servants, followed by others in contracts of employment themselves. These have only had 0% to 15% increments on salaries that were already miserably low. I hope these employers resort to picketing their employers for more increments instead of laying off the poor domestic workers.

  57. Well ,well this is a paradox of what the govt want to achive. incease the cost of doing business and and create more jobs. Sorry pals it does not work like this in simple economics. you increase jobs first then talk about money later. unless NGO and parastatals can go with this thinking. Any commercial operation will simply down size the labour and pay the new salaries. RESULT less jobs and few with money. Such policies work in a system with bigger govt operations(state owned). a private operator wants value for the pay one eearns. not thsi non sense in govt departments. sorry for rthe maids this could be you rlast salary.

    • The employers are your brothers and sisters, your mother and father back home, and off-course yourself. So work hard in your nursing home to send more money for your mother to increse the salary of  that housekeeper who is helping her with her daily living as you are away in the diaspora. You are also affected. fo.ol

  59. The government didn’t think the realization of the Zambia. If the salary increases like this, more people will lose their jobs and the price for living stuffs will increase a lot. Because the business men will put the increasing salaries in their goods. In actually, you will find you get more and you pay more. Finally, you get nothing and you also should be worried about your unstable job.

  60. Working abroad is quite good, but often times you miss home so much when chaps call you monkey and related epithets.

  62. PF dont rejoice,nothing from PF so far.It is not Pf to pay but employers, who will end up lay off half theirworkers. It is ease o pass laws that dont affect you.We would have appreciated if Govt upgraded professional employees salaries such as police teachers and other civil servants. Now a clerk is gonna get more than a corp/police officer, shame on this Govt, that failed to increase salaries for its workers and now inducing rentrenchments. There is nothing good about this.

  63. All i can say is that the shop owners will just cut down on their staff and increase their prices on their goods to sustain these costs chapwa

  64. I can see more and more people losing jobs as a result of this blindfold undertaking. A lot of them will be fired or layed off simply for some companies to survive this dictatorial pronouncement. I will also relive my garden boy since my retention has been cancelled by the government of the day the socalled CNP government. This is job creation at its best. I rest my case!

  65. I feel worry for the domestic workers. Their employers’ salaries will most probably remain the same. The poor lot may be, as the Americans put it, let go, or as the British put it, retrenched, to avoid penalties for failing to pay them the minimum wage.

  66. This is nothing compared to the 5 million kwacha Hungry Hyena (HH) promissed each Zambian worker. So what are u complaining about you UPND’s.

  67. This sounds good indeed at face value. But lets analyse the lowest figures quantitatively:
    DOMESTIC WORKERS GENERAL CATEGORY
    Salary 250,000 400,000 419,000 792,308
    Hse 30% 125,700 292,692
    Transport 102,400 102,400 102,400 102,400
    Total 352,400 522,400 647,100 1,132,400
    OLD (2011) NEW(2012) OLD(2011) NEW(2012)
    Increase percent 48.2% 74.97% .
    Summary a massive improvement in amounts. Also note this is has been agreed by tripartite federations! Great

  70. am now getting above 5m ,and my wife is getting above 3m!

    Now our maid gets k300000.
    She works monday to friday and knocks off @ 13hrs while reporting @ 0730hrs.
    Further,she has all the holidays .

    So ..!

  73. This will stop them from stealing. Zambian workers are kawalalas that is why our businesses cant prosper!! However, unskilled shud be cheap but we cant oppress our workers since we want productivity!! while we shud encourage them to go to school to get skilled also encourage pipo to have degrees before they enter state house!!

  74. fukin zedians you dont appreciate snoopy u rit ma man. fuk them hard in the ass!!! u gay mother fukaz.

  76. Zambia, when are we going to improve on our planning. Its 2012 and we re still making annoucements of bills becomimg effective in the past. Discuss bills and plan for a future implemantation date. This helps in better planning. Very few will get their salary increament from the 4 th. How about bills coming into effect in 6 months.

  77. For the first time, it is prudent to praise government for revising the minimum wage. The problem is that, if government becomes too hard, some people might lose jobs.

    • If Sata has a heart let him also increse salaries for teachers, nurses and policeman by the same 100% that he wants to impose on employers of maids and garden boys. Its easy to force other to do what you can’t do yourself. Fooli.sh country

  79. Impossible for government to monitor those figures, so they are just a paper exercise for now.

    I mean, even I as Shamenda’s house maid I am stilll earning K200 000/month. Far less than the old so called ‘minimum wage’ and thats before you even think of the new K500 pin….i know i wont get it as long as i work at Shamenda’s house. please fire him

  80. Iyee ba @9 (Bull), ati fake! How much were you getting before this amendment?

    These things are done relative to prevailing conditions and by taking into account many factors. You can’t just wake up one day and propose salary conditions that are out of step with the economic fundamentals of the Nation. You also have to consider the labor market in the areas covered by this amendment—you do not just pull figures out of your ass to simply satisfy a few like your type. If you wanted more, can the job market afford your demands without putting a lot of people on the unemployment line? Has the economy grown big enough to justify such an increase? These are some of the simple and obvious questions an intelligent person should ask before talking!

    Muleke ukunwa katata ba mudala!

  81. The minimum wage is still quite low compared to a lot of developing countries. I think that the people at the lower end of the wage scale in Zambia need to be paid more, after all they will spend the extra money within the Local Community which helps development. Obviously the Government has to keep an eye on Inflation as this will surely increase as a result of the Public having more money to spend. Regarding comments by some Employers on here saying that they will have to dismiss Employees, in my opinion if you pay people more you can expect more from them, in other words, the more you pay them, the harder they will work!

    • Paul obviously you must be a Labour supporter and a socialist here. The wages in other Countries are higher because they are more productive than the Zambian workers. Why do you think you get higher wages (assuming you work) here than your uncle in Zambia who may have the same job. By the way inflation will not arise as long as PF does not Print more Kwacha to pay out. What will happen is that small businesses with small profit margins will have to get rid of unproductive workers or close down their businesses as they will not be able to pay higher wages, not becoz they dont want to, but their businesses will not allow it. You live here you should know this with the unemployment amoung the youth not only here but every country with minimum wage laws. Go to the JobCentre to C 4 urself.

  82. @72, akulu mphuno:

    Since you will be paid more, you can now afford to be generous with the “mahule” you shag! Logically speaking, aren’t you the employer of your mahule?

  83. Due to this move, Unemployment will double within six months. Minimum Wage laws don’t create jobs or wealth, they just destroy the existing jobs and punishes the very people they intended to help.

    Youth unemployment will sky rocket to levels the PF government will not be able to contain the commotions the unemployed youth will resort to.

    Its a SAD day for Zambia and her small businesses which employ the most people…. 

  84. How do you compare China to Zambia? Lets look at issues objectively. Most developed, if not all of them have minimun wages. I would suggest that, GOVt should classify workers according to skill levels and set minimun according to those classes instead of setting minimun wage by industry.

  86. Short term result a number of workers will be laid off and government can not force private citizens and/or companies to maintain a work force that they can not afford to pay, only government and quasi government institutions can adhere to the minimum wage. There is too much malingering among Zedian workers so they must not rejoice but reorient their attitude towards work in order to earn these wages! I am sure already there is an influx of requests for salary advances!

  88. Has the income of the people that pay them gone up as well? If not then they will be laid off. Who would want his disposable income to be eroded. There should be some cushioning measures for the masters.

  89. I think all should take a step back and think of the results this will bring, Inflation and loss of employment……….Still think its a wise move???????

    • with my two million kwacha’ l pay seven hundred for accomodation’ five hundred for maid’ who is a live in and uses everything that is mine’ l think l cant afford l better lay her off’ in order to save’ will be getting on part time basis for washing clothes

    • I too have relieved 3 of my shop assistants this morning and also increased prices to sustain the other 4 i have

  91. THE REAL SPIRAL EFFECT IS DOMESTIC WORKER BEING DOWNSIZED/ FIRED, PIECE JOBS . OTHERS WILL OPT TO STAY/FEED THEIR RELATIVES INSTEAD OF EMPLOYING.
     IT MEANS SALARIES FOR THEIR MASTERS WILL INCREASE BY A PARTICULAR FACTOR USING THIS AS A REFERENCE POINT ASSUMING NON EXISTENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS.

  92. Common sense tells me that if I can’t afford to pay those wages then I have to lay off my workers to break even…and am off to do just that!

  94. No. 62 good comment, Am a clerk in the gvt getting less than 1.5 as my salary am very surprised to hear the same gvt increasing more than 100% to shop workers and others how do you remove a particle in your friends’ eye leaving your own eye in pain. sad situation.

  96. How do you compare salaries in Zambia and China? @ 85. It is not a question of development, UK is more developed than China and they have a minimum wage. 

  97. Must it be you all the time. we  need others to pick up also. if you earn more, just like me, than allow others to be happy, then reduced theft bcoz kabunga shortage levels will be improved.

  99. I live in a badsitter alone en my maid works for about two hours a day and gets 200pin, now i shud start giving her 500pin for that!!!!!1 takuli, nchito izasila ba maid

  100. Well done PF this is a good start! Labour inspectors, please do you work now and bring offenders to book.

  101. I have read the minimum wage from mr shamenda but wonder what actions are taken to companies that do not comply. For instance guardal continues to pay peanuts of about K200,000 despite government minimum wage of above K400,000. Do these guys have a union or spokes person? Can any one talk on their behalf because their employer turn a blind eye one these government pronouncements.

  103. Interesting, many domestic workers will find themselves without jobs.
    Unemployment will go up and the domestic workers association who are happy with figures today will realise that it is not the figure that matters but the availability of jobs that will transform the theoretical figures into actual money into people’s pockets.
    This is yet another experiment for the PF govt.
    I can see a reversal coming, or the inforcement of this article will totally be ignored. and life will continue on the same path; those who can afford will pay more to their maids and those who cant will continue to pay less.

  104. Jopaz!

    At K522,000 a month, the hourly rate is a about K3,000, assuming one is working 8 hours a day for a 22 days a month. So your maid if she is working for 2 hours per day she should be paid K132,000 per month!

  105. The pf govt meant well on this one but didnt think so good. if the had put a salary increment of 1 000 000 for each employee in govt then put min wage of 500 000 for ama gardeners that was gonna be kinda ok….this ministers need to sit together and discuss before the make decisions huh??? think about long term effects

  106. Good news although received with mixed feelings.Sad though is the attitude of Zambians with regard to moral compliments.There are more insults than there are appreciations.What is happening to Christian values which you always sing like a popular song;it seems like only lip service.You pray always in ur poor churches some whose founders are not even known, and yet not even an iota of moral values improve! Ifimasele fulu fulu.Ebwinamushi bwine tweba ubo!Make comments that befit a Christian nation please muletusebanya sana.

  107. z it true tht petroleum nd vehicle industries were excluded frm ths implementation? Coz at kalajere engen service station chilenje lusaka,we were shown a copy n tod tht the exercise dosent includ us..curently we r getin K 600000 n thts lunch n transpot allowans xcluded,whch we dnt even get.

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