DU PRESIDENT CALLS FOR LIVING WAGE AND END TO CASUAL CONTRACTS

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Posted by admin on May 1, 2026 at 12:21 AM

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Democratic Union (DU) President Ackim Antony Njobvu has called for a national minimum wage tied to the cost of living and an end to casual contracts in the public service, declaring that “Zambia works when workers work.”

Delivering his 2026 Labour Day message under the theme “Workers First, Zambia Forward,” Njobvu described Zambian workers as the backbone of the nation but warned that their “backs are breaking” under the weight of low wages and poor working conditions.

“Workers wake up to a payslip that cannot survive the month. Mealie-meal, fuel, rent, transport have outrun salaries,” he said, adding that a nation that does not pay its workers a living wage has “declared war on its own future.”

Njobvu criticised the prevalence of casual contracts, noting that university graduates and skilled artisans remain trapped in temporary work. He stressed that decent work must be permanent, pensionable, and protected, while describing youth unemployment as a national emergency.

He pledged that the DU would stand “in Parliament, in the courts, and in the streets” against corruption, late pay, and unfair taxation, insisting that “a motivated worker builds a profitable company and a prosperous Zambia.”

Njobvu also challenged opposition parties to unite, warning that fragmentation is betrayal. He proposed a Workers’ Charter backed by unions and opposition parties ahead of the 13 August 2026 general elections.

“Fellow citizens, no politician built this country. Workers did. No speech paved a road. Workers did. No manifesto healed a patient. Nurses did,” he said.