Zambia - Minimum Wages - 2012

26 June 2012

Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act, Act No. 25 of 1982 as amended by Act 13 of 1994. Includes subsidiary legislation - Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order (Order 120 of 1997) and Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Order (Order 119 of 1997). Published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at http://www.mlss.gov.zm/upload/Chapter%20276%20Minimum%20Wages.pdf.

Employment Act, Act 57 of 1965 as amended up to Act 15 of 1997. Published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at http://www.mlss.gov.zm/upload/Chapter%20268%20Employment%20Act.pdf.

Employment (Special Provisions) Act, Act 29 of 1966 as amended by 13 of 1994. Published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at http://www.mlss.gov.zm/upload/Chapter%20270%20Employment%20_Special%20Provisions_%20Act.pdf

Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011, Statutory Instrument No. 2 of 2011. Published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at http://www.mlss.gov.zm/upload/SI/SI%20general.pdf

Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Order 2011, Statutory Instrument No. 1 of 2011. Published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at http://www.mlss.gov.zm/upload/SI/SI%20shop%20workers.pdf.

Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Domestic Workers) Order 2011, Statutory Instrument No. 3 of 2011. Published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at http://www.mlss.gov.zm/laws.html

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act refers to "protected worker", which is defined as a worker to whom a statutory order made under the Act applies. Three such statutory orders have been identified, and these define workers as follows:
1) the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011 - includes general workers, cleaners, handy persons, office orderlies, watchpersons and guards, drivers, typists and receptionists and telephonists, and qualified clerks;
2) the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Order 2011 - ’employee’ means a person employed in a shop or in connection with the business of a shop and who has entered into, or works under, a contract of service whether oral or written and whether express or implied, but excludes an apprentice;
3) the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Domestic Workers) Order 2011 - (a) a person who takes care of a child, an aged person, a sick person, a frail person or a person with a disability, within a household; and (b) a gardener.

The Employment Act defines employee as meaning any person who has entered into or works under a contract of service, whether the contract is express or implied, is oral or in writing, and whether the remuneration is calculated by time or by work done, or is in cash or kind, but does not include a person employed under a contract of apprenticeship made in accordance with the Apprenticeship Act or a casual employee.

The term ’employer’ is not defined by the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act. However, it is defined in the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011 to mean any person or firm, cooperative or company who or which has entered into a contract of service as defined in section three of the Employment Act.

Section 3 of the Employment Act defines employer as any person, or any firm, corporation or company, public authority or body of persons who or which has entered into a contract of service to employ any person, and includes any agent, representative, foreman or manager of such person, firm, corporation, company, public authority or body of persons who is placed in authority over such person employed.

No definition of contract of service has been identified.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act defines ’wage’ to include remuneration of any kind.

The Employment Act defines ’wages’ to mean the remuneration or earnings, however designated or calculated, capable of being expressed in terms of money and fixed by a contract of service or a contract of foreign service which are payable by an employer to an employee or a casual employee for work done or to be done or for services rendered or to be rendered.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011 defines minimum wage as meaning the lowest wage that may be paid to an employee. The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Domestic Workers) Order 2011 defines minimum wages as meaning the lowest wages which may be paid to a domestic worker.

Neither the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act or the Employment Act define the term ’minimum wage’.

If the Minister is of the opinion that no adequate provision exists for the effective regulation of minimum wages or minimum conditions of employment for any group of workers he may, by statutory order, prescribe rates of wages to be paid to workers.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act does not prescribe a procedure that must be followed by the Minister when making a statutory order regulating wages. However, the Act stipulates that if the group of workers in respect of which a statutory order is to be made is represented by a trade union, no such order shall be made before consulting such trade union.

Any person affected by a statutory order made under this section may apply to the Minister for a review of such order.

No statutory criteria identified.

The scope of minimum wage rates is determined by the scope of statutory orders issued by the Minister under the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act.

The scope of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011 includes general workers, cleaners, handy persons, office orderlies, watchpersons and guards, drivers, typists and receptionists and telephonists, and qualified clerks.

The following categories of employees are excluded from the scope of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011:
(i) employees of the Government of the Republic of Zambia;
(ii) employees of a local authority;
(iii) employees engaged in domestic service;
(iv) employees in any occupation where wages and conditions of employment are regulated through the process of collective bargaining conducted under the Industrial and Labour Relations Act, or where employee-employer relationships are governed by specific employment contracts attested by a proper officer, and such conditions are not less favourable than those of the General Order 2011;
(v) employees in management; and
(vi) employees in a sector for which the Minister, by statutory instrument, has prescribed the minimum wage.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Orders 2011 covers employees employed in connection with the business of any shop, but shall not apply to:
(a) a person employed in, or in connection with, the motor trade industry or the petroleum industry;
(b) a person employed in (i) a bazaar or sale of work for charitable or other purposes from which no private profit is derived; (ii) the hawking of newspapers; (iii) the running of coffee stores; or (iv) the sale of agricultural produce on behalf of a bona fide farmer or market gardener on any land occupied by the farmer or market gardener or in the hawking of agricultural produce on behalf of the farmer or market gardener;
(c) a person who holds a hawker’s licence;
(d) a person employed in the manufacture of bread or bread stuff, or the reception, storage and treatment of fresh milk products, fish, meat, poultry, game, fruit and other perishable foodstuffs, printing of newpapers, delivery of ice to hospitals and nursing institutions and the sale (before midnight) of any programmes, catalogues or refreshments in a theatre etc;
(e) a person in management;
(f) employees in occupations where the wages and conditions of employment are regulated through the process of collective bargaining under the Industrial Labour Relations Act or where employee and employer relationships are governed specific contracts of employment attested by a proper officer, after the proper officer is satisfied that the minimum conditions as contract in the Shop Workers Order 2011 have been satisfied.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Domestic Workers) Order 2011 covers domestic workers, defined as including people who take care of a child, an aged person, a sick person, a frail person or a person with a disability, within a household, and those who work as gardeners. However, the Order does not cover employees in any occupation where wages and conditions of employment are regulated through the process of collective bargaining conducted under the Industrial and Labour Relations Act, or employees in a sector where the Minister has prescribed the minimum wage.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2011 sets the following minimum wages in Zambian kwacha:
(I) for general workers not elsewhere specified, cleaners, handy persons and office orderlies - K2,182.00 per hour or K419,000.00 per month;
(II) for watchpersons and guards - K2,298.00 per hour or K419,000.00 per month;
(III) for a person engaged as a driver - K3,125.00 per hour or K600,000.00 per month;
(IV) for typists, receptionists and telephonists - K3,385.00 per hour or K650,000.00 per month;
(V) for qualified clerks - K4,505.00 per hour or K865,000.00 per month.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Shop Workers) Order 2011 sets 8 different grades of minimum wage, the lowest of which sets a minimum wage rate of K419,000.00 per month and highest of which sets a minimum wage rate of K990,000.00 per month.

The Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (Domestic Workers) Order 2011 sets a minimum wage rate of K250,000.00 per month.

The last minimum wage updates identified were issued in January 2011.

The wages of an employee shall be payable in the currency of the Republic and shall be paid direct to the employee, provided that if the employee so requests in writing, or if the provisions of any collective agreement applicable to such employee so provide, payment may be made in any of the following ways:
(a) payment into an account at a bank or building society, being an account standing in the name of the person to whom the payment is due, or an account standing in the name of that person jointly with one or more other persons;
(b) payment by postal order;
(c) payment by money order;
(d) payment by cheque.

However, an employer is not prevented from paying to an employee, in addition to wages, allowances in kind, where such payment is customary or agreed to by the employee or provided for in a collective agreement or in accordance with any written law, provided that any such payment, being an allowance in kind, shall be for the personal use and benefit of the employee, and his family, and shall not be in the form of intoxicating spirits or noxious drugs.

In the case of an employee who is engaged on a contract of service for payment of wages at a daily or an hourly rate, it shall be lawful for the employer to accumulate such wages for a period not exceeding one month provided the agreement of the employee concerned has been obtained, subject to the right of the employee to payment on demand of any accumulated wages due to him in the event of the contract of service being terminated by either party.

In the case of an employee who is engaged on a contract of service for payment of wages at a daily or an hourly rate, it shall be lawful for the employer to accumulate such wages for a period not exceeding one month provided the agreement of the employee concerned has been obtained, subject to the right of the employee to payment on demand of any accumulated wages due to him in the event of the contract of service being terminated by either party.

The wages of an employee shall be due, in the case of a contract of service from week to week, on the last day of each week.

The wages of an employee shall be due, in the case of a contract of service from month to month, on the last day of each month.

The wages of an employee shall be due:
(i) in the case of a contract of service from fortnight to fortnight, on the last day of each fortnight;
(ii) in the case of an employee employed on a task or piece work, on the completion of such task or work, provided that where an employee is employed on piece work, it shall be lawful for an employer, with the consent of such employee, to accumulate the wages due to the employee for such period not exceeding one month as may be agreed by the parties;
(iii) in the case of an employee employed to perform a journey, on the completion of such journey;
(iv) in any other case, in accordance with the terms of the contract of service.

No statutorily imposed frequency of adjustment identified. However, any person affected by a statutory order made under this section may apply to the Minister for a review of such order.

Labour Officers appointed in accordance with the Employment Act are empowered to:
(a) to enter freely at any reasonable time, whether by day or by night, any workplace or conveyance where he may have reasonable cause to believe persons are being employed and to inspect such workplace or conveyance, provided that this power shall not be exercised except during the hours of daylight in relation to any private dwelling-house or any land or building occupied in connection therewith;
(b) to enter by day any premises in order to carry out any examination, test or inquiry which he may consider necessary in order to satisfy himself that the provisions of this Act are being complied with, and in particular:
(i) to interrogate, whether alone or in the presence of witnesses, any employer, employee or casual employee on any matter concerning the application of any of the provisions of this Act, and to question any other person from whom he considers useful information may be obtained, so, however, that no one shall be required to answer any questions tending to incriminate himself;
(ii) to require the production for examination of any book, register, account or other document, the keeping of which is prescribed by this Act, and to copy such documents or to make extracts therefrom and, if he considers such a course necessary or expedient, to remove such book, register, account or other document;
(iii) to enforce the posting of notices in such places and in such manner as may be prescribed.

In addition, for the purpose of securing the due observance of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act or any statutory order or regulation made under that Act, the Labour Commissioner and authorised labour officers are empowered to:
(a) order the production, for examination, of any record required to be compiled and maintained under section four, and make copies thereof or take extracts therefrom;
(b) enter, at all reasonable times, upon any land or premises, other than a private dwelling-house, where any protected worker is employed; and
(c) interrogate, either alone or in the presence of any other person, any-
(i) protected worker;
(ii) employer of a protected worker;
(iii) servant or agent of an employer of a protected worker; or
(iv) person in respect of whom there is reason to believe that he belongs, or has belonged, to any of the classes of persons referred to in sub-paragraphs (i), (ii) or (iii).

Every employer shall keep a record of the wages paid to each of his employees or causal employees and of every deduction from such wages and the reason therefor, which record shall be kept at the place of employment or at such other place as the Minister may in any particular case approve and shall, at all reasonable hours, be available for inspection by a proper officer. Further, every employer of a protected worker shall, in respect of such worker, compile and maintain such records of:
(a) all wages and allowances paid;
(b) any benefits given; and
(c) any other matter required by the statutory order;
as are necessary to prove compliance with such statutory order.

Conviction for failing to comply with the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act, or for failing to comply with a statutory order made under that Act, may result in a fine of up to 2,500 penalty units.

Conviction for making a falsified record under the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act, or for failing to comply with a statutory order made under that Act, may result in imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months (as well as or as an alternative to a fine).

Also, if a court is satisfied that any wage or other payment is due from such employer to any worker, the court may order such employer to pay the amount owed to such worker.