Kabwe Municipal Council (KMC) workers yesterday morning staged a protest demanding to be paid their over four month’s unpaid arrears.
A ZANIS News crew that rushed to the Civic Centre found the council workers in somber mood displaying some placards complaining that they have not been paid their salaries for the past four months.
Zambia United Local Authorities Workers Union (ZULAWU) Kabwe branch Chairperson, Ronald Kapinga, said the employees at the municipality have not been paid their salaries for four months.
Mr Kapinga said the workers have decided to hold a peaceful demonstration to convey their message to government for the non-payment of their salary arrears.
He explained that the workers have decided to protest in order to air their grievances for nonpayment of salaries for four months for all employees.
And one of the employees who spoke on condition of anonymity complained that because of the nonpayment of salaries, council workers are going for days without food while they risk being evicted as they cannot pay rentals.
The grieving employee lamented that council employees are failing to meet the cost of basic needs such as paying utility bills and sending children to school among others.
He alleged that the council makes a lot of money from the sale of plots and wondered where the money raised from premiums and other ventures go.
Meanwhile, Kabwe Municipal Council (KMC) Assistant Public Relations Manager, Waluka Mwaekwa, said all the management personnel staff are working normally at the municipality.
Ms Waluka who refused to disclose the wage bill and unpaid arrears to the media has since urged the workers to go back to work.
She appealed for patience among the workers and allow management to address their grievances in an amicable manner.
Hahaha ,i hate to laugh at people’s hardships but that’s Lungu’s economy – no direction and negative momentum. I was very shocked to see Zambia is one of 12 African countries marked RED with increasing poverty on Worldpoverty cloak dot io .
It indicates Zambia has 9,168,930 people living in extreme poverty.
Council workers not paid for months. Postal services workers not paid for months. Meantime his Excellency President Lungu saw fit to purchase private jets and charter other private jets when he travels.
And we still remember the 42 wheel burrows for 42 million dollars etc.
@ mzambia wa zamani please check your data properly. I guess you were looking for 1980s record if at all it is possible. Otherwise you might be a grand liar with your bogus statistics.
Who was the negotiating chairperson for cold storage Zambia during privatization?
Go visit Worldpoverty dot io and see my statistics are 100% correct.Don’t talk of things you don’t fully understand (you wrongly think i’m talkin total population of Zambia) but 9.2m Zambians in extreme poverty represents 52% of population.
HH
Zampost management hand twisting and threatening it’s unpaid workers to go back to work, now this council management also trying to entice council unpaid council workers to go back to work, do these people know that vama hala vinata? Slavery inasila, pay what s due to the workers for the services they have rendered. If employment contract says pay every month end , just pay them workers.
So sad to hear workers go on go slow through the Christmas season kikikikiki Boma iyanganepo
Comment:all this drama is coming from so called management coz as far as am concerned council makes a lot of money but where is the money going kanshi? Mr daka if you have failed to work just resigne than to trouble people before you came to kabwe municipal council things used be go well evry council which you go to they always chase you because of ur poor performance leave us please just go Mr daka you don’t weigh it and learn to say the truth why can’t you tell ur PS that ur workers has not been paid for four months? Even if balipena how can someone go on strike when the month is not over.mr PS sir we have not been paid for 4 months not only December so before you talk you should first address the workers not just talking from without because you urself you are up to date.
And his worship the mayor goes to Paris on holiday, really funny they shud get him out of office, lock him out.
Mean while a public relations chap Mwaeka says staff are working normally at the municipality but in the same breath urges workers to go back to work. Madness in PF government can madden you.
Unpaid workers in Zambia going for months with no pay and lungu sees no problem with that.
PLM would have intervened by now, even RB, and sacked a few people, but the corrupt inept theif lungu instead awards himself and his gang pay raises and buys a jet…….
Sad situation.
And this is Christmas.
Did these people protesting not know that the mayor has used the money for salaries to go to France with his wife for Christmas shopping. In other words there is no money left to pay them.
4 months no pay!! The council should be liquidated. And government thinks this is normal?