Dear Editor,
The battle between the Minister of Labour and the Zambia Federation of Employers has not only wounded the few but has terminated incapacitated and dehorned the once celebrated Buffalo. The fundi Buffalo though mute on the pertinent issue of minimum wage, its in-depth cry groans the loudest to the deafening of its standard of living. My interaction with a soldier over the weekend revealed alot of issues that burn in the hearts of our men and women in uniform.
Our dear gallant and loyal soldier bemoaned the last 12 percent salary increment awarded to them that it could not cushion the latest revised minimum wage for domestic workers. He complained that the Army only provided a k30,000.00 servants allowance and wondered how he would be expected to pay minimum wage of k522,000.00 to a domestic worker. The same k30,000.00 was still being threatened by their Finance office who keep dropping allowances in the name of cleaning the payroll.
We are suffering, he said, our superiors do not tell the national leaders the truth. Only a few are enjoying working, the rest are just filling up gaps with no motivation. We dont know what we have to deserve this crop of military leaders, they are insensitive to our welfare. Travels are the order of day. Mihova and Lubaya have failed because they are visionless. Nepotism is rife, appointments are not balanced. You need to be North Westerner or southerner to be considered. Lets condemn nepotism in the Army the way we condemn tribalism in Governance. All key jobs are reserved for tribesmen and the ACC is doing nothing.
Merit is never considered and the welfare of soldiers is secondary. The Army lacks credible representation in negotiating sound conditions of service. In the era and age, how do you expect one to meet the minimum wage with as low as 30pin. We need professional military leadership that is based on merit and performance. Lets have a criteria in Défence and competent leadership that all citizens will be proud of.
Concerned Zambian
Minimum Wage : Cry Of My Beloved Zambia Army Soldier added by on
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Sad situation. The minister of labour was too quick in announcing without serious considerations. Please increase that allowance to meet the minimum wage requirement.
Have respect for uniformed officers.
the move by Govt was so wrong, little allowances yet minimum wage hiked and unemployment levels continue sky rocketing, in the name of heads of state and governments they put up huge salaries for themselves and yet they continue having maids paid for by tax payers monies, this PF Govt has already failed in 90 days which is inversely proportional to their manifesto, change in 90 days. vision is what the PF is lacking
people who write on this site are not all UPND this gorverment has become so arrongant that whoever tell them something different then he is UPND This minimum wage is counter productive remember MMD on Dunlop,johnson and johnson golgate just to mention but a few, these company complained about cheap imports, the Chiluba goverment didnt see sense until these companies shut the rest is history Ndola became a dead town PF should accomodate different views otherwise i see them end up like RB shortest serving president
a lopsided argument. Its not govt to pay your domestic worker. Your lifestyle demands you live within your means. Otherwise minimum wage is really biting.
my concerned Zambian, I believe U have an arsenal of uneducated relatives that can double up for domestic work just for a pillow with no NAPSA breathing down yo neck.
CAN SOME ONE TELL WHAT THESE SOLDIERS DO IN THE BARRACK FROM 08:00HRS TO 17:00HRS ON A DAILY BASIS WHICH WARRANTS A GOOD SALARY? WE CAN ONLY BETTER THEIR CONDITIONS DURING WAR.. GIVE US A BREAK.
@Engineer,thats a very good question.These pipo must give us a break.We knw life sucks in upnd coz i was there.Hungry Hyena[hh]will surely die frm depression.This PF GOV is the best ever thats why upnd bitter foools are having sleepless nights.Nivipuba vonse.
Sad story!! Govt should think thru some of their pronouncement. I fired my
I fired my maid last week can’t afford 522pin she cried big time but not my fault
Can someone tell the labour minister that a shop owner in mporokoso cant pay 1m to hs employees, nipatali bwana,as ministers u increased your salaries over 100percent us voters 15.2016 sipatali.
Gone are the days of cheap labour, you want a domestic worker then folk out. Have you considered the lively hood of that domestic worker? Either do your own domestic work or pay up simples.
When 2 Elephants fight, its the GRASS that SUFFERS, but even when 2 elephants are making LOVE the GRASS still suffers because these animals are so MASSIVE. This is the scenario we have left the low job characters in.
IF left unchecked, the may be no GRASS left and the Elephants will eventually DIE because the grazing pasture is depleted…CAREFUL
shame on you shamenda prepare more prisons for employers that will not afford, you are very arrogant.
Gents be realistic,ask the soldiers how much is the lowest paid?and ask yourself how much is the maid nor a servant is getting per month,we are all human and all we should enjoy the same way others are enjoying,these people are also fathers and mothers who also want to take care to there children like you do,these people were getting K150.000 per month,suppose it were you getting that much,be honest and think about voiceless.all we are God’s favourite.
I dnt see anythng wrong wth 522 or 1.2m, th wages r very fair….if u cnt afford a domestic wrkr or shopkeeper…DIY….why do Zambians always want othrs to wallow in poverty while thy thrive? As fr defence men and women,honestly,I dnt see wht ths pipo do in ths country…thy jst mve around in thr unifors nama combat…solder…isnt thr anymore in Zambia…ths guys shld b downsizd..thy r th main consumers of tax payer’ money,nw thy wnt domestic wrkr paymnt…whn minimum wage fr thm is 30 and thr r tax payers whse minimum is 1:5m whts wong wth thz pipo?
Not every one should have or can afford a domestic workler.Let’s be serious and realistic!Minumum wage is oK for a start.Go to Europe and see if people have domestic workers any how.Problem in Zambia is that we think everyone deserves a garden boy,maid and a nanny-welcome to reality!
I cannot afford to pay maid. I let maid go. Maid becomes prostitute or den mother. She gets hiv. Gives hiv to ministers son. Ministers son gives hiv to ps s daughter. PSs daughter gives hiv to minister.
Shamenda walakwa. Go back to the table and redo yo thinking.
Allow me to advise govement to move in the army and clean this rot.surely why should nepotistic behaviour rock our army.come on govment this is not acceptable.
my appeal to soldiers all over the country is that forward your complaints to the defense minister,itemise all issues without fear or favour.fear no death but defeat.what is wrong, is wrong no two ways about it.
fight for a just cause,all ranks must enjoy being part of the army and not a minority few just because of ranks.
explore all avenues to have your problems solved.
as for it should be catigorised properly,some maids are sitting in maids…eat my food,sleep in my rented house,enjoy entertainment,use my toilet, use my groceries…you people then i pay her 522pin for what? lets pay those maids who are coming from their homes…more over women have become our call partners in ernings so we can afford depending in the situ
Truely for our men in uniform, its true that tribalism not only destroys the head, its a cancer that shall eat through the head. On minimum wage i disgree with bwana. These people you call maids deserve a fair share of what one earns, that why the minister has firmly sad if you can’t pay appeal the office. Let us fight for a better zambia today, tell the people of the cancer in the army.
Lazy bones… Zambian soldiers are lazy indeed, the engineer might b rite but the minimum wage must be curtailed carefully or else most zambians will remain jobless if this situation is left unchecked. Let all the concerned stakeholders convene and sort it out amicably. The other option apart from this is to introduce windfall tax on mining thence, grz will have more money which will c other sectors employ more workers and more money in their pockets.
@ enginers u stupit u cant c that the piece u r boasting abt is maintained by th defense forces u r blind and dull o chap
It is like nepotism is every where? I know of one Government Institution which employees Lozis. I attended interviews the pannel was all Lozis (BRE) and a lozi was employed. Ni nthawi yao.
I have been paying my domestic worker a salary of about the minimum wage for a long time now, way before the government introduced it. And she has stayed with us for many years, even moving with us when I was transferred from place to place. It would be immoral for me to pay her anything less because even at that rate it is still too low for anybody to maintain a decent way of life. Is K500,000 really too much money to pay a maid? Honestly, how much do we drink or throw away buying talk time for useless girl friends in a month? I honestly spend more than that. So why I should I feed my demons and not pay my maid. I know, for some people the wages are low and their cries are genuine but these are few. For most of us its a moral issue, selfishness, insensitivity to the welfare of others because we can afford to pay the minimum wage.
What do soldiers do? A lot, they keep Zambia safe. You bloggers are able to post useless comments on this post because of the peace and freedom provided by our men and women in uniform. There is no war, so let’s downsize the Army. That is warped thinking, do that and the country will be overrun in 72 hours. You want realise how important keeping a vibrant Army is untill when you become refugees in your own country and you see wives and children being raped by enemy soldiers. The job of a soldier during peace time is to train and prepare for war, hoping and praying that the war never comes but being eager and ready for it if it does. If you want to downsize the Army and hope to recruit when the enemy is at the border, you are doomed. You will not have the time to equip them and train them to fight cohesively as an Army under such circumstances. The
Army is a deterrent to potential enemies.
Ba fikala ba tumfweko were are my comments?
Let those who can afford do so no cheap labour.
the minimum wage will indirectly or directly affect the level of unemployment in zambia i.e it will definately rise as many won’t be able to keep up.e.g shop keepers will be forced to let go of some of their workers including some big companies as well
i agree
Tumfweko is selective on what they post as comments. neutral comments or those that favour government are not posted. on a number of occasions now my comments have not be posted except when they are critical of government
Staying in a foreign country for a while has opened my eyes to so much that we miss in Zambia. Firstly our country will never improve until people are able to make sacrifices for one another. The under payed only hold on to these jobs for lack of a better alternative way of income while those employing them are enjoying massive benefits from their( under-payed) services. And implementing a new minimum wage though hard to accomplish and insanely unrealistic to most people is a great step to ensuring that every last person from these trade circles is mutually reached and benefited as much as the employers regards to their inputs of efforts. Only then will we have a platform to talk about fighting poverty in our country, great countries today were once worse than we are and instead of throwing stones and stepping on each other like we do they united and rose to greatness. We can’t go on if we keep looking down on other people that offer certain services like bus drivers, maids and gardeners everyone is just as important as the accountants, doctors, the president etc and deserves as much a better pay.
Why do u employ? Out of sympathy or for need? The ones complaining are all selfish and foolish..
ooooooh shame army washing dirt linen in public.shame this is what we call unsoldier like manner.please always the army why not police,airforce nor national service.stupid
I think the people in the army are free to talk as much as anybody else this is a democratic country. Not only that if following the correct channels cannot work why not. Just stop that your nausense of saying its not soldier like what is soldier like having the army organise a coup because of pressure, is that what you want? Let them talk so that if it is the listening government it will hear and their condition of service will be revised and enjoyed by all than by a few fat glutton big stomack apam.Speak!
If u can’t afford the new minimum wage marry the mead/garden boy so that he/she becomes apart of u.
Let people complain for now. I promise no one will be fired. This what happend when pasport fees were hicked from k72 000 to k320 000 which was over 150% and today zambians get passports more than anyone in the world
u will not understand the need to have the Army until our so-called peace becomes threatened…..as a matter of advice,desist from thinking that men in uniform just lazy around! this is seriuosly unhealthy….mind u ,you do not need to be schooled on how chaotic countries become without a proffessional defence force like ours….All this govt needs are issues to be addressed, PERIOD!Further advice….visit some of our neighbouring countries….maybe you may change your mindset on your ill-informed insinuations like downsizing the Army….ENJOY BLOGGING WHILE PEACE PREVAILS
@Chikalansolo,u are right….lets continue to pray that God continues to grant us peace. However,all humans are equal…u may engage a worker or not.
@Engineer u a twit perhaps an idiot. U think in the army there are no Engineers. All that the soldier is talking about is that he gets 30pin as maid allowance and how should he/she the maid 500pin. The responsibility of a soldier is to preserve peace which u r now enjoying and u cant see it because u r blind. Soldiers need to be taken care of nicely, if anything chaotic happens in our beloved country its us the civilians who would suffer severely and not the soldiers. U call yourself an engineer, can u justify what u do as an engineer.
Let’s be proud of our defence force specifically the Army for they are professional. How many coup attempt have been quenched avoiding bloodshed in the past? The peace enjoyed here else where in the continent is not there
I think the soldier who is shouldering the blame on both the Army commander and his deputy over nepotism is indiscipline and a total disgrace to the entire military establishment. Can he also kindly tell us that all the recently newly recruited soldiers come from only the regions he has categorically stated.Infact it him who is practising nepotism because he is very bitter that none of the commanders come from his roots.The commander is very well placed and he is there on merit.If Iam not mistaken he is the first Army commander to come from north-western province since independence.My genuine advise is that the soldier should stay mute and be focussed so that he progresses nicely in his ranks.Bravo!to his excellence Mr.Michael Chilufya Sata for appointing these two well diserved gallant men to lead the Army.
Life is simple. Live within your financial means while trying to expand your financial capacity. The concept of indifference curve is the most important one-its state indifference curve can not cross each other- Meaning if you get paid K2,000,000 you can live the same life with those who get paid K10,000,000.
if the government wants to help the poor let this be a chain reaction, reduce taxes “paye”, hence people have more money to pay these minimum wages, we are all in a win win situation….but if salaries of people meant to pay these same wages are the same where is the money going to come from???? bye maid hello sunday girls. same applies to companies reduce some tax instead of waiting for prices to be increased thereby rendering this whole process futile, because despite the increaments if things go up what os the use??????
Desperation leads to failure.Progress goes to people who work hard and appointments are rewards of hard work.When failure egulf you, you will always look for a reason for your failure. Appointments in the are Army are on merits and not on tribal lines.The commanders and his Deputy deserve their appointments.How I wish the so called servant allowance was removed from you coz you are trained to do things on your own, what do you need a servant for? A person who is not trained to polish your boots and wash your combat? What happens when you go into operations, do you go with these servants? Be realistic!
You people, Are maids and servants commodities that you should complain at their new pay? They are human beings also. As much as you are not happy with your pay, they too were not happy, because they also have maids to take care of their homes, whilst they are work in your house. If you cant afford a maid now, just get your sister or sister-in-law to do the chores, and leave that maid to those who can afford.
shame on u ba engineer. ur educated but unwise. honestly, can a normal person say the army aint doing anything? Even a grade 2 knows why we need the army.do u buy food in yo home only wen yo tummies start rumbling? ur not well read and yo thinking is shallow. read David bwalya s comment n get u some wisdom son!! wait until ur pinned down by congolese soldiers n yo teeth pulled out one by one using a folk… then u ll wish our soldiers were around to save yo poor soul. Shame on u again.
Engineer and Moonga, fools like you never cease to amaze me, how can you say you will only increase the salaries of soldiers when there is war? The peace you are enjoying now you owe it to these people you fools, do you know what our soldiers go through to keep calm on our boarders? Are you aware that some soldiers have been killed by Mai Mai in Kaputa? Locally the soldiers still have operations in Northwestern, Western and Luapula Provinces in areas where the security situation is bad. If you expect a soldier who is not motivated to defend you when war breaks out wanya it wont happen and defeat will be certain. There are a lot of examples around the world to that effect. Nigerian Army which is the second largest in Africa has exempted all its soldiers(over 100,000) from paying any tax. If the government felt that these soldiers do not need domestic servants why mock them with 30 pin Domestic worker’s allowance? Oh by the way even Mugabe does not tax his soldiers
the slightest of freedom of expression in the army is a billion doller expensive. welfare of regular soldiers greatly lacks, it is in need & calls for serious attention. qualifications re over looked in favour of those known in the corridors of power thus wrong deployments &appointments. education oppotunities re offered on grounds of who you know. it is so sickening & needs an aggressive approach. am appealing 2this gvt 2seriosly look in2 this.
imwe mwe bantu.What do the same sodiers do in our country to claim a pay rise?in fact they are more than paid.Most of them are grade 9,12 drop outs.Unless professionals even though.