Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Zambia (Ratification: 1972)

Articles 1(1) and 2(2) of the Convention. Minimum wages fixed by statute or through collective bargaining. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report and the attached documents, in particular the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order, 2006 and the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Order, 2006, which set minimum pay rates for non-unionized workers, as well as the copies of certain collective agreements establishing minimum wages at the branch or enterprise level. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide additional information on the categories and the approximate number of workers whose wages are fixed through collective bargaining or, alternatively, by the two statutory instruments referred to above.

Article 3. Criteria for fixing and adjusting minimum wages. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, at the time the statutory instruments were issued, the minimum wage levels were adequate to provide a decent standard of living, but their value has eroded over time. In this connection, the Committee once again requests the Government to explain how the workers’ needs are taken into account, as required under this Article of the Convention, when the statutory minimum wages are revised.

Article 4(2), (3). Consultations with the social partners. The Committee has been commenting for many years on the need to amend section 3(1) of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act (Cap. 276), which requires consultation only with a trade union before an order could be prescribed. The Government has indicated in earlier reports that necessary action would be taken to bring the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act into line with the requirements of the Convention, i.e. full consultation not only with the workers’ unions but also the employers’ organizations. The Committee once more expresses the hope that the Government will take appropriate steps without further delay in order to align the national legislation with established practice and requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this respect.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is planning to undertake a comprehensive wages survey. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this regard and to transmit a copy once the survey has been finalized. It also asks the Government to continue to provide up to date and documented information on the practical application of the Convention including, for instance, the estimated number of workers remunerated at the minimum wage level, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services showing the number and nature of contraventions of the relevant legislation and the sanctions imposed, copies of collective agreements, etc.