British envoy backs Govt on wage freeze

British High Commissioner to Zambia James Thornton has backed the Patriotic Front (PF) government’s decision to maintain the wage freeze on the civil service in the 2015 financial year.

This is despite country’s trade unions warning of dire consequences that include countrywide mass demonstrations should government remain adamant on wage freeze.

In an interview with Qfm News, Mr. Thornton says his concern is the broader economic situation of Zambia.

Mr. Thornton says if government is to control fiscal deficits, one of the ways to do so is to restrict public spending.

The British envoy says this is why he thinks that by imposing a wage freeze on the civil service, the Zambian government is trying to cut down on deficits especially that the public service was recently awarded a huge pay increment.