The Zambia Federation of Employers – ZFE acting president Mara Sakala called on government to start preparing for more interventions such as payments to business and workers to cover up to a certain percentage of wages for workers.
“The Unions is of the view that government should suspend contributions to the National Health Insurance Scheme by all employees,” she said.
And Minister of Labour and Social Securities, Joyce Nonde Simukoko has urged employers across the country to place their employees on paid annual leave or work from home scheme in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
Nonde-Simukoko said this should include those with few or no accrued days. She said in an event that the above is not feasible, when an Employer places the employees on forced leave, they should ensure that they are paid a basic pay as provided for in section 48 in the Employment Code Act number 3 of 2019.
The Minister said Government is aware of the impact of Covid-19 on sectors such as the Tourism and Agriculture where suspensions of operations have occurred, which invariably might cause a challenge on employment relations.
She was speaking during the Special Tripartite Consultative Labour Council meeting on Covid-19 held in Lusaka on March 26, 2020, monitored by Zambian BusinessTimes – ZBT. ‘‘This meeting has come at the right time to inform the labour market on measures to be taken to limit the impact of Covid-19,’’ she said.
And Zambia Congress of Trade Union president Chishimba Nkole appealed to government to ensure that employers comply to existing labour laws during the period of Covid-19. There is need for finding a sustainable solution as workers need to be paid but businesses also need to continue generating revenues.
