By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Labour Commissioner Givens Muntengwa has called on pressure groups to acknowledge the law when advocating for employees.
Speaking during a meeting with Teacher unions following media reports that some people were inciting union members to resign and merge, Mr Muntengwa cautioned union members to first understand procedures provided for in the Industrial Relations Act to avoid unnecessary unrest among teachers and the general public.
He said that organisations who want to advocate for people they feel are been marginalized must first acknowledge the law by engaging all parties and then guiding members only when the process has fully been looked at to circumvent any confusion that may arise from not adhering to the law.
“As a pressure group if you feel the law has short comings, the first thing you should do is to put agenda items on the table and identify what focuses on the law and what does not rather than putting everything in one box. Dialogue with the existing trade unions rather than attacking them to avoid the law been used against you,” He advised.
He has since urged teachers across the country to engage their unions and take interest in understanding the law before making any decisions that may affect them in the future.
And Basic Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ),General Secretary, Henry Sinkala has urged the aggrieved teachers to dialogue with their respective unions rather than inciting members to resign which is a contravention of the law.
He has called on teachers to not only look at the errors of the teacher unions but also the goods these unions have done in ensuring industrial harmony in the education sector.
