ZUFIAW disagrees with World Bank on wage bill

The Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) has disputed the insinuation by the World Bank that government’s huge expense is on civil servants’ wages.

Reacting to World Bank country Director Kundhavi Kadiresan that warning government over huge spending on wages, ZUFIAW General Secretary Chingati Msiska says the high expenditure by government in 2013 and 2014 was as a result of several issues such as the parliamentary and presidential by-elections, the high gratuity and allowances for top government officials and other unplanned for expenditure.

Mr Msiska says there are only a privileged few in the civil service who enjoyed Royal salaries,gratuity and other allowances.

Mr Msiska who is also FFTUZ President bemoaned the huge disparities that exist between senior and junior civil servants in the country.

He says many of the civil servants struggle to provide for their families and look after themselves.

Mr Msiska states that certain people in government have in 3-years gotten gratuity equal to the pension of a unionized employee who has served the nation for over 25 years.

He observes that this unfair disparity was the major contributor to the grim picture supposedly projected by the huge wage bill.