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Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Zambia (RATIFICATION: 1980)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in its report, in reply to its previous request concerning the operation of private employment agencies (Articles 2 and 9 of the Convention). In this regard, it also notes that the Government has submitted its first report on the application of the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) and refers the Government to its comments under that Convention.

Labour law reform. The Committee notes that the Government refers to an ongoing labour law reform. The Committee requests that the Government provide more information on the measures taken within the context of the abovementioned reforms and, where applicable, supply copies of any legislative texts that are adopted.

Articles 4, 5 and 6(2)(a) of the Convention. Organization of the labour administration system. Impact of the financial and economic crisis on the labour administration system and cooperation with the social partners in this regard. The Committee notes from the information in the 2012 Decent Work Country Profile that following mergers of various functions in 2011, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security became the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Labour. However, it appears from information available on the website of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security have once again become two stand-alone ministries.

The Committee recalls that, in its previous comment, it requested that the Government indicate the activities carried out by the labour administration to cope with the financial and economic crisis and their impact, as well as the measures taken or envisaged to strengthen the labour administration in this context. In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to social dialogue meetings to discuss possible solutions in trying to mitigate the impact of the crisis. The Committee further notes from the information in the 2012 Decent Work Country Profile that social dialogue has been effective in mitigating the impact of the global financial and economic crisis and that during the crisis, the trade unions in the tourism and mining sectors agreed to reduction in their conditions of service in order to protect jobs. The Committee finally refers to its 2013 comments under the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No.122), where it noted that the social partners have been involved in consultations on employment policies through the Employment and Labour Sector Advisory Group (ELSAG), the Tripartite Consultation Labour Council (TCLC), the National Social Security Reform Implementation Committee and the Technical Committee on Labour Market Information System. The Committee welcomes this information and requests that the Government continue to provide information in this regard.

Article 7. Extension of the system of labour administration to cover workers who are not, in law, employed persons. The Committee notes from the 2012 Labour Force Survey Report available on internet that of all employed persons in the country, 84.6 per cent had jobs in the informal economy. The Committee further notes the indication of the Government in its report that while the current legislation does not cover the categories of workers mentioned in Article 7, reforms are being undertaken to extend social security coverage to informal workers. The Committee further notes that this objective was also included in the 2013–16 Decent Work Country Programme for Zambia (outcome 4.2). The Committee requests that the Government continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to cover workers who are not, in law, employed persons, such as: (a) tenants who do not engage outside help, sharecroppers and similar categories of agricultural workers; (b) self-employed workers who do not engage outside help, occupied in the informal sector as understood in national practice; (c) members of cooperatives and worker-managed undertakings; and (d) persons working under systems established by communal customs or traditions.

Article 10. Material resources and staff of the labour administration system. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in reply to its previous request that in 2015, 0.01 per cent of the national budget was allocated to labour administration. While the Government acknowledges challenges in the district labour offices, it also indicates that measures are being undertaken or envisaged to improve the material working conditions of these offices (additional office space, the equipment of offices with computers and internet connection) which should greatly contribute to the enhanced efficiency of the functions of labour administration. In this regard, the Committee also understands from the Government’s report that additional labour officers have been recruited. However, the Government has provided information only on the number of labour inspectors and not on all labour officers working within the labour administration services. Welcoming the measures to improve the material working conditions of the labour administration services, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to identify and allocate the financial resources necessary to meet the needs of the labour administration services. In this regard, the Committee requests that the Government continue to provide information on: the percentage of the budget allocated to the labour administration as compared to the national budget; the total number of staff working within the labour administration services; and the material working conditions in all district offices.