Nationwide strike threatened over pay demand

Zambia's trade union movement has issued an ultimatum to the government to improve public service wages or face a nationwide strike. Leonard Hikaumba, the president of the 250,000-strong Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said last week that workers were tired of the government paying lip service to their demands. "If within two months the government does not address our plea for a wage increase we are going on a nationwide strike and no amount of intimidation will stop us this time around," he warned. The basic take home salary for Zambia's teachers, nurses and policemen is around 300,000 kwacha (US $60). According to the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR) which carries out monthly cost of living surveys, an average family of six in January needed more than 1 million kwacha (US $208) per month for "basic needs". The ZCTU has demanded an across the board pay increase that would raise the salary of the lowest paid public worker to at least 1.5 million kwacha (US $300). It also called for the halving of the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) tax rate from the current 30 percent to 15 percent. The workers demands have been backed by civil society groups and the opposition, who argue that public servants simply cannot make ends meet on their current pay cheques, undermining efficiency and leading to graft. "It is unrealistic for the government to think workers are going to survive on what they are presently paid," Patrick Matibini, a lawyer and political analyst told IRIN. "In my view, President [Levy] Mwanawasa's fight against corruption will fail as long as public workers who award tenders are lowly paid or not paid at all." In 1992, the government under former president Frederick Chiluba embarked on a radical Public Sector Reform Programme (PRSP)supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to down-size the public service. Under the programme, the government planned to reduce the public service to just below 80,000 from over 150,000 workers. Those remaining in employment, according to the plan, could then be properly remunerated and in turn motivated. But the PSRP stalled because the government said it had no money to pay the retrenchment packages, nor did it have the funds to increase salaries. The government's continued excuse of an empty exchequer has been condemned by critics who argue that it is a question of priorities. They charge that it would be better to improve public servants salaries rather than the government's practice of buying 4x4 vehicles valued at US $45,000 each for all of Zambia's 150 parliamentarians. They also point out that in the current budget the wages of cabinet ministers and the president have been increased, while the plight of public workers has again been ignored. "I think it is highly immoral and unpardonable for the government to award themselves salary increments in the face of hunger. They should have considered the ordinary people whose wages do not correspond with the cost of living before they awarded themselves hefty perks," Robby Makayi, spokesperson of the main opposition United Party for National Development told IRIN. The government has pointed out that large-scale public spending is hamstrung by its obligations to service its US $6.5 billion debt. The 2003 budget sets aside US $108.3 million for debt servicing. "The argument is made that this regular servicing will assure continued debt 'relief' to Zambia. But surely one has to ask: at what cost to the Zambia people is this huge sacrifice being made to the creditors? Is it morally right to starve one's children today in the hope that there will be food tomorrow?" questioned the JCTR in a statement. Two consecutive poor harvests have threatened the food security of 2.9 million Zambians in the countryside. Rising food prices in the cities have also deepened the vulnerability of Zambians in the urban areas, in a country where 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line. According to the JCTR's January food survey, a family of six needed 401,000 Kwacha for food alone, up from the December 2002 average of 380,150 Kwacha. A two percent fuel price hike announced at the end of January is also likely to have a knock-on effect for household incomes. "When fuel prices go up in Zambia, prices of food and transportation go up as well," Davies Tembo who works at a local NGO that pays him US $50 a month told IRIN. "With my 200,000 kwacha, I can barely afford to buy a bag of mealie meal, which costs 50,000 kwacha [US $10] pay rent at 50,000 kwacha also in an unelectrified house and the money is over. This means I have to walk to the office everyday and miss out on a number of things in order to ensure my wife and child at least survive on two small meals," Tembo said. "First, a key development issue this country faces is to ensure that people are given incomes that are consistent with the demands of decent living," the JCTR statement said. "The theme for this year's budget was 'Food Security through Production and Job Creation'. It is true that one way by which food security can be attained is through production and job creation. But of course we know that it does not end here. People starve not only because they have no jobs but also because incomes from these jobs are not enough to meet basic food requirements. In the Zambian context, it is difficult to guarantee food security only on the basis of having people in employment." Visit the JCTR website