Tue, 19 Dec 2017 12:05:45 +0000
By Violet Tembo
GOVERNMENT has increased salaries for all council workers ranging 15.7 percent for the least paid in division four and 3.0 percent for the highest paid.
The Zambia United Local Authorities’ Workers Union (ZULAWU) General Secretary (GS) Kingsley Zulu disclosed this following the signing of the 2018 collective agreement, 10 days after negotiations came to a close.
And Local Government Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga confirmed the development to the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday.
“It is true that salaries for councils workers have been increased by 15.7 percent for the least paid in division four and 3.0 percent for the highest paid, we signed a collective agreement with ZULAWU last Friday,” Mr Malupenga said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zulu said the union opted to settle for the percentages in question in the spirit of give and take.
He said this would help cushion local government service workers from current hash economic realities.
He said in the 2018 collective agreement, government was offering better conditions of service which included migrating workers on the decentralised payroll and revisiting the annual performance appraisal system.
“Council workers are the least paid in the country but we opted to settle for these percentages because government currently has no capacity to go beyond what it had offered.
He said the union would not rest but ensure that councils in the country improved on levy collections.
Mr. Zulu pointed out that the problem in local authorities was that salaries were largely dependent on the local government equalisation fund.
He also said the union had advised government to embark on centralised printing of receipts to be used by councils countrywide.
This, move, he stated would ensure transparency and avoid leakages in terms of money collected by the councils.
Meanwhile Zulawu has appealed to the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) to immediately halt the transfers of council officials in councils countrywide.
Mr. Zulu said in the last three months since the exercise kicked off, officers who had been transferred to various councils had been paid subsistence and settling allowances by their previous stations.
He complained that the situation had resulted in local authorities being indebted which in turn hampered service delivery.
“Let the service commission cease effecting transfers as councils sill have old debt to settle for our members. Indebtedness of councils has increased as a result of the transfers. Let them allow council have breathing space until they liquidate the what is owed to their employees. Transfers effected in the past three months have really destabilised councils in terms of revenue,” Mr Zulu said.
