by Paula Määttä

XIII. Zambia

E. The role of the social partners

1. Women and trade unions

Most wages are arrived at through collective bargaining. The wages and conditions apply to all employees for whom the collective agreement is intended. There are eighteen national unions in Zambia, each representing a different sector and/or occupational activity. All unions are affiliated with the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). In the formal sector the number of organised workers is quite high, about 70-80 per cent. Those unions with the greatest number of female members are located in the commercial sector (textiles, shops etc.) and in the services sector (posts, civil service etc.). However, there are few women at the national leadership level in the ZCTU or in the national unions. Women play an increasingly visible role at lower leadership levels. (Hurlich 1986, pp. 164-169.)

In the ZCTU, there is a Women's Advisory Committee, the role of which is to improve and support the rights of working women. The ZCTU has also organized programmes relating to women workers, such as, the Rural Workers Programme, which organises activities such as a sewing project and literacy campaigns. The impact that the Women's Advisory Committee is starting to have within the trade union movement can be seen also in the spin-off effect it is having on the various national unions. Several national unions have started to form their own Women's Committees. These include the Teachers' Union, the Union of Local Authority Workers, the Public Workers Union, and the Civil Servants Union of Zambia. (Hurlich 1986, pp. 165-169.)

Other unions have been active in negotiating important rights for their female members through collective agreements. For example, the Post and Telecommunications Workers, as well as the Financial Institutions and Allied Workers, have clauses in their collective agreements supporting 90-day maternity leave with pay. (Hurlich 1986, p. 172.)

2. NGOs and women's groups

There are several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and women's groups in Zambia. Many NGOs work with women at the grass-roots level, helping to identify different projects and organizing skills training programmes. Among the NGOs are the National Association of Business and Professional Women of Zambia. There are also church groups, such as the National Council for Catholic Women and the Young Women's Christian Association. (Hurlich 1986, pp. 271-274.)

The women's movement in Zambia developed in the 1980s. It consists mainly of educated urban women, rather than low-income rural or urban women. The Association of African Women on Research and Development is an action-oriented research group concerned with feminist research and women's development needs. The Zambia Alliance of Women is engaged in various projects in support of women. There are also the Women's Development Network and the NGO Coordinating Committee, which are trying to provide better coordination among agencies working on behalf of Zambian women. (Hurlich 1986, pp. 271-272).