Africa-Press – Zambia. SHIWANG’ANDU PF MP Stephen Kampyongo has advised ZCTU president Blake Mulala to focus on discussing the plight of workers and not politics, stating that he is focusing on the wrong issues.
Meanwhile, Mpika PF MP Francis Kapyanga says it is disrespectful for Mulala to tell Members of Parliament that they should ensure Bill 7 is enacted because MPs only listen to their electorates, not union leaders.
And Kaputa UPND MP Elvis Nkandu says the support that Bill 7 has received from labour unions indicates that it is a Bill that is worth enacting into law.
On Thursday, Mulala urged Members of Parliament to ensure that Bill 7 was enacted into law, warning that workers would deal with them if they failed to do so.
In an interview, Friday, Kampyongo questioned why the labour unions were supporting Bill 7, arguing that it was only meant to benefit politicians.
“He shouldn’t misuse the trust workers have placed in him to represent them to politick. He’s straying into a wrong area, that’s not his area. Who is he to even talk to us honourable members? We know the people that have given us the work we are doing as their representatives, so let him shut up if he has got nothing to say about the plight of his workers. Right now, the unemployed doctors are downing tools, and that will pose a risk to people’s lives. That’s what Mulala should be talking about. What is in Bill 7 that is meant to uplift the welfare of workers, if I may ask him? That’s a shallow way of looking at things,” Kampyongo noted.
“Let him not come into the area he doesn’t belong. We have always advised him not to join politics. If he wants to join politics, let him hang up his labour position. He is the wrong chap to advise us. He’s just a corrupt representative, a morally corrupt representative of the workers, that’s all he is, because if he was a well-grounded union leader whose responsibility is to represent the workers, he should have been talking about how workers have been stressed with this load-shedding that they’ve been enduring, how they’ve had to adjust their budget to buy charcoal. Those are the things that should concern him. Are they able to earn a living from their labour? Those are the things he should be talking about”.
Kampyongo stressed that Mulala should focus on negotiating better salaries and conditions of service for the workers.
“How is he negotiating with the Emoluments Commission to ensure that the workers are not stressed? You have seen public servants such as teachers in different areas taking their lives because of failing to cope with hardships. Let him speak for the people that have trusted him to represent them, the labour, the workers, who are stressed in so many ways. He knows how difficult it is now for people, either in the public service or private service, to earn a living, to make ends meet, to put food on the table. He may be having three square meals because of the contributions of his members and the tokens he’s getting for being a praise singer, but people are stressed,” said Kampyongo.
“Look at the price of essential commodities and the cost of the food basket, staple food, mealie-meal, what’s the price? How is that commensurate to the people’s meagre salaries which have seen either non-adjustment or little adjustments which cannot match the inflation rate? Those are things that should preoccupy a labour leader, not politicking to praise those that are in authority. It’s the first time we are seeing this kind of labour and union politics, the very first time in this country, where unions would cluster themselves to go and just talk about politics. In whose interest? They’ve gotten it wrong. Actually, those are the fellows who need to be voted out by the workforce”.
Meanwhile, Kapyanga argued that Bill 7 did not serve the interests of workers, which raised questions as to why they were supporting the Bill.
“The current leadership of the labour movement in Zambia just represents their interest; they no longer represent the interests of the workers. Even when he was speaking, he was just speaking for himself and he has no locus standi to warn members of parliament. That was disrespectful. Members of parliament get instructions from their electorates on how they should proceed regarding a particular matter in the House. In this case, the issues of Bill 7. We’ve been consulting our electorates in our respective constituencies and according to them, they say they’ve not been consulted on Bill 7, and even when the government purported to be consulting, the submissions that they got from the people have not been incorporated in coming up with a new Bill,” said Kapyanga.
“Even the platform from which he was speaking, if there was any genuineness, he was going to speak from his office, flanked by workers themselves. But how can workers be interested in Bill 7, which does not serve their interests? The workers’ interests have not been served in Bill 7 because the Bill of Rights is not part of Bill 7. Two, this same labour movement has failed to fight for the rights of its own workers. Currently, workers get peanuts in terms of salaries, their conditions of service are pathetic. Under the economic hardships, workers are still getting peanuts, they cannot even afford to pay rent. What is he even talking about? He only talks loudly when he’s supporting the government. He was not representing the interests of the workers because Bill 7 has no Bill of Rights, the positions in Bill 7 are all for politicians”.
However, Nkandu noted that Bill 7 would help the country strengthen its democracy.
“This is a plus because we have so many workers in this country that have perused that particular Bill and for them, it is worth supporting, which is very encouraging. It means that government is to some extent being vindicated that what we have put on the table is something that will help develop this country, it’s something that will also help democracy grow in this country. I’m very excited that the workers have also put pressure on us as members of parliament to do the needful,” said Nkandu.
“It is important that we look at the bigger picture of what we intend to do as a country, and I believe that Bill 7 really contains something that will help democracy grow, that will also help this country develop, and how best decentralisation can also match with the matching resources, especially to us who are in rural areas. We need that development, we need that money. I believe that what the workers have said is something that needs to be appreciated because they do understand what is in there. If there was something that would hinder the progress of our democracy, that would hinder development, obviously they would have come out. I know they have perused that Bill and they are okay with that”.
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