The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR) has advised that the labour office should inspect both the formal and informal sectors for compliance to the revised employment act of the country.
JCTR Media and Information Officer Alice Mapulanga says compliance has been a huge challenge which requires to be prioritized to improve conditions of service for workers and bridge the gap between the cost of living and the wages.
Ms. Mapulanga says government should therefore partner with other government institutions and allocating more financial resources to the Ministry of labour to achieve the respect that employees need.
“In 2018, it made revisions to the minimum wages Act. The changes included – an upward revision of domestic workers’ wages from K522.40 per month to K993.60 and Grade 1 shop workers and general workers’ wages from K1, 132 per month to K1, 698.60.” she explains.
She says this in the May 2019 Basic Needs Basket (BNB) statement issued to the Media in Lusaka today.
The statement indicates a reduction in the BNB for the month of May by sixty-one Kwacha eighty-three Ngwee (K61.83) from five thousand five hundred and nineteen Kwacha forty-seven Ngwee (K 5,519.47) in April 2019 to five thousand four hundred and fifty-seven Kwacha sixty-four Ngwee (K 5,457.64) in May.