Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Zambia (Ratification: 1979)

Article 12 of the Convention. Regular payment of wages. Further to its previous comments concerning accumulated wage debts by local councils in all nine provinces of the country, the Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government according to which the overall councils’ debt, including unpaid salaries, statutory obligations and other creditors, as of December 2011, stood at 671.7 billion Zambian kwacha (approximately US$127 million). Contrary to the data included in the Government’s previous report, the latest statistics contain no clear indication as to the total amount of wage arrears and the number of months involved, making it impossible for the Committee to assess the evolution of the situation; nor does the Government’s report provide any details on similar difficulties experienced in other economic sectors, such as health care and education. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to communicate together with its next report a detailed account on the problems of non-payment or delayed payment of wages encountered in the country, including up-to-date statistics on the total amount of outstanding payments, the principal sectors affected, the number of workers concerned and the average length of time involved in late payments, and any additional measures taken in order to resolve these problems.