Wayzata World Factbook 1996

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TITLE: ZAMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994 AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DATE: FEBRUARY 1995 Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, tribe, sex, place of origin, marital status, political opinion, color, or creed. Women Both the Constitution and law entitle women to full equality with men in most areas. In practice, Zambian women are severely disadvantaged compared to men in formal employment and education. Married women who are employed often suffer from discriminatory conditions of service. For example, allowances for housing and children and tax rebates to which they as employees are entitled often accrue to their husbands. Similarly, women have little independent access to credit facilities; in most cases, they remain dependent on husbands, who are required to sign for loans. As a result, few women own their own homes. Customary law and practice also place women in subordinate status with respect to property, inheritance, and marriage, despite various constitutional and legislative provisions. Under traditional customs prevalent in most ethnic groups, all rights to inherit property rest with the deceased man's family. The 1989 Intestate Succession Act is designed to guarantee women a share of the joint estate. Under the Act, the children of a deceased man share equally 50 percent; the widow receives 20 percent; the parents, 20 percent; and relatives, 10 percent. In practice, "property grabbing" by the relatives of the deceased man continues to be rampant, particularly when local customary courts have jurisdiction. These courts often use a different law, the Local Courts Act, to distribute inheritances without reference to the percentages mandated in the Succession Act. As a result, many widows receive little or nothing from the estate. Another problem is that fines for property grabbing mandated by the Succession Act are extraordinarily low given high inflation since the law was enacted. During 1994 the Ministry of Legal Affairs and nongovernmental organizations examined ways to amend the law to safeguard the rights of women more effectively and to increase the penalties for violations. By year's end, however, an amended Succession Act had not yet been introduced in Parliament. Violence against women remained a serious problem. Wife beating and rape were commonplace. According to official statistics, 2,243 rape cases were reported to the police between 1990 and 1994. Of these, 709 resulted in conviction and 102 in acquittal. The remainder were either dismissed or are unresolved. Defendants convicted of rape normally were sentenced to prison at hard labor. Since many rapes are not reported to the police, the actual number is certainly much higher. Domestic assault is a criminal offense, but in practice police are often reluctant to pursue reports of wife beating. In June the spokesman for the Zambia police said that officers will follow up on a case if a victim desires to press charges, but that in other cases police will try to broker a reconciliation. The Government and nongovernmental organizations expressed increasing concern about violence against women, and the media devoted considerable publicity to it during the year. Children The Government seeks to improve the welfare of children, but scarce resources and ineffective implementation of social programs adversely affected the welfare of children and adults alike. Due to harsh economic conditions, both rural and urban children often must work in the informal sector to help families make ends meet (see Section 6.d.). There was no pattern of discrimination or societal abuse against children. In September the Ministry of Legal Affairs sponsored a 3-day workshop on "The Human Rights of the Child." People with Disabilities Persons with disabilities face significant societal discrimination in employment and education, and the Government took steps to ameliorate their hardships, including establishing a national trust fund to provide loans to the disabled to help them start businesses. The Government has not legislated or otherwise mandated accessibility to public buildings and services for the disabled. Section 6 Worker Rights a. The Right of Association The Constitution provides for the right of citizens to form trade unions, and approximately 60 percent of the 300,000 formal sector workers are unionized. The country's 19 large national unions, organized by industry or profession, are affiliated with the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The ZCTU is democratically operated and, like its constituent unions, is independent of any political party and the Government. By a majority vote of its members, a union may decide on affiliation with the ZCTU or with trade unions or organizations outside Zambia. The ZCTU is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Labor leaders travel without restriction to international conferences and to visit counterparts abroad. In late 1994, the Mine Workers Union of Zambia and a number of other ZCTU constituent unions, in rejecting the results of ZCTU leadership elections, took steps to disaffiliate themselves from ZCTU and establish a rival umbrella organization. This process continued as the year ended. The 1993 Industrial and Labor Relations Act (ILRA) reestablished the "one industry, one union" principle. The Bankers Union of Zambia, a new union, was duly registered with the Government in 1993 but has been unable to operate because the employers recognize the existing Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers. In November 1993 the Ndola High Court ordered the Government to register the Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia. The Government appealed to the Supreme Court, noting that secondary school teachers were already represented by the Zambia National Union of Teachers. The case remained pending at year's end. All workers have the right to strike, except those engaged in essential services, the Zambia Defense Force, the judiciary, the police, the prison service, and the intelligence security service. The ILRA defines essential services as power, medical, water, sewerage, firefighting, and certain mining occupations essential to safety. It permits strikes only after all other legal recourse has been exhausted, and in practice all work stoppages during the year were illegal. The ILRA prohibits employers from retribution against employees engaged in legal trade union activities. Workers engaged in illegal strikes do not enjoy this protection, and there were at least two instances in 1994 when employers fired workers engaged in illegal strikes. b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively The right to bargain collectively is established by legislation and is contained in the ILRA. Employers and unions in each industry negotiate collective bargaining agreements through joint councils in which there is no government involvement. Civil servants and teachers, as public officials, negotiate directly with the Government. Collective disputes are first referred to a conciliator or a board of conciliation. If conciliation fails to resolve the dispute, the parties may refer the case to the Industrial Relations Court or, in the case of employees, vote to strike. In practice, the industry joint councils function effectively as collective bargaining mechanisms. The ILRA prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers against union members and organizers. An employee who believes he or she has been penalized for union activities may, after exhausting any existing administrative channels for relief, file a complaint with the Industrial Relations Court. This Court has the power to order appropriate redress for the aggrieved worker. The complainant may appeal a judgment of the Industrial Relations Court to the Supreme Court. In practice, the Court often orders employers to reinstate workers found to have been the victims of discrimination. There are no export processing zones. c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor The Constitution prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, but it authorizes citizens to be called upon to perform labor in specific instances, for example, during national emergencies or disasters. Moreover, a citizen can be required to perform labor that is associated with traditional civic or communal obligations, as when all members of a village are called upon to assist in preparing for a visit by a traditional leader or other dignitary. d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children By legislation, the minimum age for employment of children is 16. The Labor Commissioner effectively enforces this law in the industrial sector, in which, because of the high demand for employment by adults, there are no jobs available to children. However, the law is not enforced for the vast majority of Zambians who work in the subsistence agricultural, domestic service, and informal sectors, where persons under age 16 are often employed. In urban areas children commonly engage in street trading. e. Acceptable Conditions of Work In August, pursuant to Statutory Instrument Number 99, the Minister of Labor set the minimum wage for nonunionized workers at $0.11 (70.30 kwacha) per hour. On a monthly basis, assuming a 48-hour workweek, a worker earning the minimum wage would receive $22 (14,600 kwacha). The minimum wage covers nonunionized workers in categories such as general workers, cleaners, office orderlies, and watchmen. The minimum wage is insufficient to provide an adequate standard of living, and most minimum wage earners must supplement their incomes through second jobs, subsistence farming, or reliance on the extended family. With respect to unionized workers, each industry through collective bargaining sets its own wage scales. In practice, almost all unionized workers receive salaries considerably higher than the nonunion minimum wage. The legal maximum workweek for nonunionized workers is 48 hours. Maximum limits for unionized workers vary. The minimum workweek for full-time employment is 40 hours and is, in practice, the normal workweek. The law requires 2 days of annual leave per month of service. Zambian law also regulates minimum health and safety standards in industry, and the Department of Mines is responsible for enforcement. Factory safety is handled by the Inspector of Factories under the Minister of Labor, but staffing problems chronically limit enforcement effectiveness. There are no legislative provisions to protect a worker who refuses to work on safety grounds.