Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Zambia (Ratification: 1964)

Parts I and II of the Convention. Improvement of standards of living. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in August 2009 in reply to its 2008 observation. The Government indicates efforts to improve standards of living and poverty reduction through the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) from 2006 to 2010, in order to promote good governance and public safety. The Committee notes the impact of HIV/AIDS on poverty in the country, one of the sub-Saharan African countries worst affected by the pandemic. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report further information on the impact of the National Development Plan with regard to economic development policy, improving the national standard of living and poverty reduction (Article 2 of the Convention). The Committee hopes that the Government will include information from an updated living conditions monitoring survey (LCMS) to reflect the effect of current social policy on the level of poverty, HIV/AIDS and their respective increase or decline.

Part III. Migrant workers. In reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that standards are ensured by the Zambian Constitution which guarantees rights for all persons, including migrants, to adequate medical and health facilities, as well as the right to life and non-discrimination. The Government indicates that the Employment Act, which is currently under review, does not contain any provisions that discriminate against migrant workers. It further states support of migrant workers, through the FNDP, which envisages that development incentives will aid in the voluntary migration of workers from the informal to the formal sector. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report further information on the terms and conditions of employment of migrant workers within the national territory and abroad (Articles 6–9 and 14(3)).

Part VI. Education and training. The Government indicates initiatives to promote education and training through the Technical Education and Vocational Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA). It further indicates a need for increased capacity among educational institutions and distance learning efforts to meet this unmet demand. The Committee invites the Government to provide further information on the impact of education, vocational training and apprenticeship as part of a social policy in line with Articles 15 and 16 of the Convention.