THE review of the minimum wage in 2012 gave low salaried workers such as maids, garden boys and child-minders a 100 percent salary rise from K250 to K550.

Receptionists, shop attendants and qualified clerks became the highest paid under the minimum wage with their salaries going up to about K2,372, amidst resistance by some employers to adhere to the minimum wage.
In light of the harsh economic conditions in the country, Government is in the process of revising the minimum wage to help lowly paid workers in the informal sector to sustain themselves.

Over the last five years, Zambia’s economic situation has seen dramatic changes and the cost of living has gone up.
The monthly basic food basket (BNB) released by the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) for the last three months indicates that a family of five needs around K5, 000 to meet basic needs such as food, housing, electricity, etc.

A considerable number of people in the country fall under the low income category, therefore sustaining a family is a hard task for many.
“With the current high cost of living, it is hard to meet all the basic needs like transport fares, electricity and housing bills. Currently, the cost of electricity has gone up and life is becoming unbearable,” Martha Mwape, a Lusaka resident, said.

It’s in view of the hardships that the people are going through that Government wants the lowly laid to have more disposable income.
Minister of Labour and Social Security Joyce Simukoko, in a ministerial statement to Parliament recently, said consultations with the Tripartite Labour Council on the review of the minimum wage are under way and will soon be concluded.

This will pave way for the implementation of a new minimum wage that will hopefully help low income workers to meet their basic needs.
Mrs Simukoko noted that the consultative process has taken longer than expected, but she is hopeful that the process will be concluded by December this year.
“The recommended time to review the minimum wage is four years but the process has taken longer than it should have. However, we are almost concluding and by December this year, we will be able to announce the outcome of the discussions,” she said.