Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1991
ZAMBIA
Zambia's transition from a de jure one-party to multiparty
state featured adoption of a new Constitution and was capped by
presidential and legislative elections on October 31, in which
labor leader Frederick Chiluba defeated long-time President
Kenneth Kaunda for the Presidency. Chiluba 's Movement for
Multiparty Dempcracy (MMD) won an overwhelming majority in
Parliament over the ruling United National Independence Party
(UNIP) . Despite a number of campaign abuses, primarily by
UNIP-forces, the elections, hel4 under the scrutiny of a large
number of domestic and international observers, were fair and
orderly.
The new Constitution, which provides for a number of
fundamental rights, represents a compromise betweeri the
preference of UNIP for a strong Presidency and MMD ' s demand for
a strengthened Parliament. It gives Parliament the power to
ratify major appointments, including those of the Chief
Justice, the Attorney General, and others, and the right to
approve the establishment or dissolution of government
ministries and departments.
The Zambian police, operating under the Ministry of Home
Affairs, have primary responsibility for maintaining law and
order. Divided into regular and paramilitary units, the police
also supervise a volunteer vigilante force which is frequently
accused of human rights abuses. The Zambian Intelligence and
Security Service (ZISS) is charged with intelligence and
counterespionage responsibilities while the armed services are
used for internal security. Abuses by the security forces can
be and occasionally are challenged in court, and abusers found
guilty are punished. However, the Government has seldom taken
the initiative to investigate reports of abuses, and security
forces regularly kill suspects and detainees; such claims
rarely have been challenged.
The Zambian economy is heavily dependent on its majority
state-owned copper industry, the only significant source of
foreign exchange. A decline in world copper prices, compounded
by falling production due to mismanagement, failure to invest
in maintenance, and the siphoning off of revenues for purposes
other than copper production, has plunged the Zambian economy
into serious recession for a number of years. Agricultural
production, in which over half of the population is engaged,
mainly at the subsistence level, has suffered from severe
drought and government policies, e.g., low prices paid to the
farmers and expensive food subsidies given to the large urban
population. The Kaunda Government was unwilling to introduce
austerity programs—principally reduction of the subsidies on
mealie meal—and as a consequence, fell into arrears with the
'
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
causing the IBRD to suspend its programs in Zambia. In
1990-1991, inflation of over 100 percent and deteriorating real
wages prompted strikes in many sectors and helped bring about
the end of the Kaunda era.
The human rights situation improved steadily in Zambia as the
year unfolded. The reintroduct ion of democratic pluralism and
popular ferment for political and economic change resulted in
unprecedented freedom of speech, press, and assembly, and
increased parliamentary and public challenges to the
Government. There was vigorous judicial protection of
constitutional rights, including the right of citizens to
change their government. The state of emergency (SOE), which
had been in effect for 27 years, ended in November, 7 days
after the elections, in accordance with the new Constitution.
Despite these positive developments, there were a number of
human rights abuses during the year, including torture and
other mistreatment of detainees and excessively long
detentions. Discrimination against women remains a problem.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were five known political killings during the year and
numerous extrajudicial killings. Four MMD officials were
murdered by UNIP members in Luanshya, and an MMD supporter was
beaten to death by UNIP supporters in Lusaka. UNIP leaders
claimed these killings were individual acts and not a result of
government or party instructions. There is no evidence to
contradict that claim. The Government and the police are
treating the murders as criminal rather than political acts.
As the year ended, the trial of the seven UNIP suspects had not
yet begun. Suspects in the murder of the MMD supporter in
Lusaka are awaiting trial.
Security forces frequently kill criminal suspects during
apprehension or while the suspects are in custody. Between
January and September, more than 30 suspects were shot dead by
police. For example, in May a paramilitary policemen killed a
street vendor, provoking a near riot. In August and September
alone, police killed over 20 persons. Such killings are rarely
investigated, and explanations that suspects were shot while
resisting arrest or trying to escape are not generally
challenged.
b. Disappearance
There were no known cases of government-inspired disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution prohibits torture, but police and military
personnel resorted to excessive force when apprehending or
interrogating detainees or prisoners. In May police announced
that the volunteer vigilantes would be replaced by trained
community constables, but at year's end, this program had not
been implemented.
Victims can and do sue the Government for abuses by the
security forces. According to press reports, an 84-year-old
headman successfully sued the State for defamation and assault
after police beat and starved him for 8 days on an alleged
charge of stock theft; a Chingola student testified that a ZISS
officer shot him through the mouth; two aggravated robbery
suspects told the Ndola High Court that they were severely
beaten by police with fan belts and cable wires while their
colleague was shot dead; and three youths who sued the Attorney
General and sought damages for being subjected to one meal a
day at a police station in Lusaka. The verdicts in these cases
were not publicized. In October the State was ordered to pay
three men $300 each as compensation for false imprisonment when
they were detained without explanation for a night. Also in
October, a paramilitary officer who beat a man to death during
crowd control duties was sentenced to 5 years at hard labor.
Due to fear or ignorance, however, few victims file complaints
of torture and other mistreatment at the hands of the security
forces. When charges are brought and there is strong evidence
against the security forces, the Government pays damages and
settles out of court, thereby avoiding publicity or a public
record of the case.
Conditions in Zambian prisons are harsh and life threatening.
Tuberculosis, anemia, and chest infections are rampant in
prisons due to low protein diets, lack of clean water,
substandard food, severe overcrowding, and poor sanitation and
medical facilities. In many prisons only one meal a day is
served. Lusaka Central Prison, built early in the century to
incarcerate less than 200 inmates now houses over 1,000. In
June the Minister of Home Affairs told Parliament that 306
prisoners died from various diseases while serving sentences
between 1985 and 1990, and in July Prime Minister Malimba
Masheke expressed government concern with prison conditions.
However, by year end, no new funds had been allocated, and the
overall prison situation had not improved.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Government released all political detainees and prisoners
in July 1990; new political detentions did not occur.
Various security laws provide broad powers of detention, and in
practice administrative detentions are widespread. An
indeterminate number of foreign nationals are held for
extremely long periods of time awaiting deportation. One
detainee, James Kakoma, said he had been detained since 1983
while another, Peter Moyo, said he had been held as a
prohibited immigrant since 1979. On October 15, according to
the Zambia Daily Mail, 50 prohibited immigrants at Lusaka
Central Prison were beaten by prison wardens following a
protest against alleged prolonged detention. Some of the
immigrants were reportedly in detention since 1980.
In regular criminal cases, a detainee must be charged and
brought before a magistrate within 24 hours, but there are
delays at each step of the process, and deadlines are
frequently missed due to police inefficiency or lack of
transportation to bring a suspect before a magistrate.
Delayed judgments occur at every level of the judicial process
and have been a growing concern to the Zambian legal
community. In December 1990, the Chief Justice assured the Law
Association of Zambia (LAZ) that the problem of delayed
judgments would be resolved. The LAZ recommended that judgment
not delivered within 6 months should trigger misconduct
proceedings against a judge and criticized the Supreme Court
for being a major culprit in failing to dispose of cases on
time. In March the Supreme Court in turn criticized prison
authorities for failing to bring prisoners to present their
appeals. In one case, a prisoner convicted in 1981 and
released in 1989 finally came up for appeal in 1991.
The Preservation of Public Security Act (PSA), which gave the
President broad discretion under the SOE to detain or restrict
the movements of persons and to order that persons be arrested
and detained for indeterminate periods, expired with the State
of Emergency on November 8, 1991.
The State of Emergency was a major issue in the election
campaign. The SOE gave police officers of assistant inspector
rank and above power to arrest without a warrant and detain a
person for up to 28 days. In practice, the SOE was used early
in the campaign to refuse permits to rally to opposition groups
until the courts stopped the practice. An international
election observer, former President Jimmy Carter, found that
use of the SOE served as a tool for police to issue or deny
permits for political rallies, impose official or unofficial
curfews, and generally intimidate or abuse opposition parties.
On October 3, the Vice President of LAZ accused the Government
of using the SOE to detain people on political grounds, to
expropriate property, and to detain people for 28 days or more
to facilitate investigations into petty crimes.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judicial system consists of the Supreme Court with
appellate powers and a series of lower courts, of which the
High Court is the most important. Although presidential
detainees were not guaranteed public trial, such trials were
usually public in the few instances when they occurred. In
most cases, presidential detainees were eventually released
without having been tried.
In ordinary cases, the law provides a number of protections for
defendants, including protection during interrogations. It
provides for the right to legal representation at one's own
expense or through legal aid; the right to give evidence under
oath in criminal procedures; the right to give an unsworn
statement; and the right to remain silent.
In security cases, accused persons enjoyed few of these
protections. The President in the past had the power to
appoint and transfer judges, and some attorneys maintain that
this fact swayed court decisions in cases in which the
executive branch had a particular interest. However, the new
Constitution increased the Parliament's role in the approval of
judicial personnel, and during 1991 the judiciary demonstrated
significant independence in rulings protecting the political
opposition's freedom of speech, right to associate, and right
to buy air time on radio and television (see Sections 2. a. and
2.b. ).
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The inviolability of the home is provided for in law and is
generally respected, except in past cases relating to the SOE
or to roundups of suspected illegal aliens and black
marketeers. In such cases, security forces had broad powers
and often entered the homes of suspects without search
warrants. Following the lifting of the SOE, the new Minister
of Legal Affairs announced that police may no longer conduct
searches of homes or other properties without warrants. One
credible UNIP opponent claimed that his incoming and outgoing
mail was tampered with in 1991. However, there was no
independent confirmation of mail or telephone monitoring.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including;
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedoms of speech and press were increasingly exercised in
1991. As a result of popular pressure and the ensuing
nationwide debate on democratic pluralism, there was
unprecedented criticism of the one-party system of government
and its leaders, including the former President. President
Chiluba promised in the campaign to ensure freedoms of speech,
press, and assembly.
Early in the year, however, the Government, including President
Kaunda, tried to suppress coverage of MMD activities in
UNIP-publications and in government-owned newspapers. In
February a High Court judge ruled that the President had denied
Zambians their constitutional freedom of expression by banning
the newspapers, television, and radio from covering the
opposition. As a result of this and other court actions
throughout the year, the official and UNIP newspapers gradually
increased coverage of all political activities and viewpoints,
and alternative private newspapers proliferated, despite
official intimidation and threats against suppliers, printers,
and distributors. In particular, the Weekly Post and
opposition papers like the Daily Express gained great respect
and credibility for their reporting on corruption.
In September a court injunction forced the Zambia National
Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) to air opposition
advertisements, and in October the Press Association of Zambia
filed a successful injunction against the government-appointed
Director General of ZNBC and the managing editor of the Times
of Zambia. The injunction restrained both men from occupying
their offices or performing their duties until after the
elections on the grounds that the two were partial in reporting
on political activities.
Academic freedom is respected in Zambian society, and educators
are outspoken in their opposition to political influence on the
education system. However, when students at the University of
Zambia Lusaka campus became embroiled in the debate on
democratic pluralism, the Government temporarily shut down the
university. President Kaunda said the closure was intended to
prevent students from triggering riots and looting and
implementing plans for the Speaker of Parliament or the Chief
Justice to take over the Presidency in an interim government.
Student leaders denied the allegations.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
During 1991 the courts routinely ruled in favor of greater
freedom of peaceful assembly and association. When Zambia
became a multiparty state in December 1990, the UNIP leadership
tried to exclude from Parliament those members who changed
their affiliation to join the opposition party. The Supreme
Court overturned a lower court and found that parliamentarians
who joined the >5MD could keep their seats in Parliament. In
March nine MMD members, including party president Frederick
Chiluba, were acquitted of unlawful assembly and belonging to
an illegal society. In other cases, the courts ruled against
government attempts to prevent the opposition from meeting
without a police permit, to evict marketeers for belonging to
the MMD, and to restrain conference centers from renting
meeting space to opposition parties.
After the various court rulings, police became generally
evenhanded in issuing permits for peaceful multiparty rallies
and on occasion demonstrated considerable professionalism in
defusing potentially explosive situations between parties at
political rallies. In several instances where ruling party
supporters harassed or attacked opposition supporters, the
police arrested UNIP vigilantes or other instigators.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is provided for in the Constitution and
respected in practice. Zambia has no state religion, and
adherence to a particular faith does not confer either
advantage or disadvantage. Christian missionaries from a wide
variety of faiths operate in the country.
In a departure from past liberal practices, soon after taking
office in November, the Minister of Information banned an
Islamic radio program on the grounds that Zambia is a Christian
country. The Vice President quickly reversed the decision as a
violation of human rights and reinstated the program.
The Government has prohibited the Jehovah's Witnesses from
proselytizing, but they function openly, and their freedom to
refrain from participating in various secular activities such
as voting, singing the national anthem, and saluting the flag
is respected.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Under the UNIP Government, police roadblocks were common, and
vehicles were commonly searched for illegal immigrants,
poaching, and other crimes. Police used these opportunities to
steal goods from travelers. Shortly after the Chiluba
Government took office, the Minister of Legal Affairs
abolished road blocks.
In Lusaka in September and October, an unofficial dawn-to-dusk
curfew was imposed in townships. The Government claimed that
the curfew was instituted to curb a rise in crime. However,
the LAZ, the MMD, and residents of the townships claimed that
the curfew and related police patrols were intended to impede
opposition candidates and supporters from door-to-door
campaigning in the evening hours. In one reported incident,
paramilitary officers beat a newspaper reporter for being out
of doors after 8 p.m. Since the October 31 elections, there
have been no official or unofficial curfews in Zambia.
In several instances, the UNIP government withheld or withdrew
passports to prevent foreign travel by persons whose political
or criminal activities were considered inimical to Zambian
interests. On November 26, the Supreme Court ruled that a
passport is not a privilege but a right to which every Zambian
citizen is entitled.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
estimates that in 1991 there were approximately 140,000
refugees in Zambia, pricipally from Angola, Mozambique, Zaire,
South Africa, and Namibia. Some Angolans entered Zambia after
the final throes of the armed conflict in Angola. Repatriation
of these and of the older Angolan refugee population began in
1991; large-scale repatriation is projected for 1992. Most of
the approximately 2,000 African National Congress (ANC) exiles
departed Zambia in 1991 although there was also an influx of
young South Africans fleeing the violence in their country.
While the ANC has imprisoned defectors and detainees in Zambia
in the past, there were no known ANC prisoners held by the
organization in Zambia in 1991. The ICRC has been tasked with
following up on the detainee issue in southern Africa.
The Zambian authorities handed over to the Malawi Government in
midyear five Malawian suspects held in the 1989 assassination
in Zambia of Mkwapatira Mhango, a leading opponent of President
Banda, and eight members of his family. The Malawi Government
reportedly released the five suspects shortly after their
return to Malawi, although this could not be indejjendently
confirmed.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
During 1991 popular demand for political change increased, and
the right of citizens to change their government was visibly
demonstrated in the multiparty, secret ballot elections October
31. The new President, trade union leader Frederick Chiluba,
and his party, the MMD, stressed throughout the campaign their
dedication to a democratic political process, including
increased parliamentary control and safeguarding basic human
rights. The MMD also stressed the importance of m0ving toward
a free market economy. In the legislative elections, the MMD
won a sweeping victory over UNIP, gaining 125 of the 150 seats
in Parliament. In addition to UNIP and the MMD, four other
parties fielded candidates. UNIP swept Eastern Province, where
19 of its 25 seats were won but picked up only 6 more seats in
the remaining 8 provinces. No independent or third-party
candidates were elected.
Parliament has yet to make any significant changes on
appointments other than electing a new Speaker, Robinson
Nabulyato, who was previously Speaker from 1968 to 1988, and
choosing a former UNIP government official who became a founder
of MMD, Sikota Wina, as Deputy Speaker.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Government neither encourages nor hinders inquiries or
visits by human rights organizations. The LAZ Human Rights
Committee has operated without hindrance under both the UNIP
and MMD governments. A new organization, the Women's Lobby
Group, seeks to ensure legal and societal rights of women.
During the runup to the elections. President Kaunda at first
refused to permit foreign monitors to observe the election but
later reversed his position and invited a cross-section of
international groups, including the Carter Center, the United
Nations, the Organization of African Unity, the Nonaligned
Movement and the Commonwealth of Nations to send monitors to
Zambia. In addition to the international observers, domestic
monitoring groups, the Zambia Independent Monitoring Team and
the Zambia Elections Monitoring Coordinating Committee actively
recruited and trained Zambians to monitor polling stations and
counting centers and report on whether the election process was
free and fair. Representatives of the churches, press, women's
organizations, nongovernmental organizations, the Law
Association, and university students participated in the
monitoring effort. Despite some abuses, the ensuing elections
were judged free and fair by international and domestic
observers.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
The population of almost 8 million comprises more than 70
Bantu-speaking tribal groupings. Economic and social needs are
met on a generally nondiscriminatory basis. The Constitution
of 1991 prohibits discrimination based on race, tribe, sex,
place of origin, marital status, political opinions, color, or
creed.
Under civil and constitutional law, women are entitled to full
equality with men in most areas. Government and opposition
leaders encourage women to become involved in the political
process. In practice, women are increasing their participation
in Zambia's social, economic, and political life and gaining
representation in the professions and higher education. Women
deputy government ministers, judges, parliamentarians, managing
directors, and other professionals do exist. However, in
Zambia women remain subordinate in many ways. As a major
component of the rural work force, according to one report,
women provide 80 percent of the labor involved in food
production and 50 percent in cash crop production. Statistics
provided in April 1991 by the Central Statistics Office show
that women are severely disadvantaged compared to men in formal
employment (4 percent women versus 25 percent men), in
unemployment (65 percent women versus 35 percent men), and in
literacy (54 percent women versus 76 percent men).
Although legally, Zambian men and women doing the same job are
to receive the same pay, in 1986 the average monthly earnings
were much less for women than for men in each industry owing to
the higher rate of employment for men and lower salaries for
comparable work by women. In rural areas, women earned eight
times less than men, whereas in urban areas, women earned three
times less than men on average. There is no legal redress for
women who are refused employment on the basis of sex.
Customary law and practice, contradicting Zambia's Constitution
and codified laws, place women in subordinate status with
respect to property, inheritance, and marriage. Under
traditional customs, all rights to inherit property rested with
the deceased man's family. The widow and her children were
entitled to nothing. The Intestate Succession Act, passed in
1989, guarantees widows a 20-percent share and children a
50-percent share in the inheritance of a deceased man's
property. Despite this legal provision, ignorance, apathy, and
fear render the enforcement of this law generally ineffective.
Similarly, most divorced women are unaware that under the
maintenance law, ex-husbands can be compelled by magistrate's
courts to maintain their families after divorcing their wives.
Women's groups representing the major political parties, a
nonpartisan organization created in 1991 called the Women's
Lobby Group, and professional women's associations have been
active in educating women about their rights.
There are no reliable statistics on the extent of violence
against women, including wife beating. Domestic assault is a
criminal offense, but in practice police are often reluctant to
pursue reports of wife beating or other forms of abuse. In
addition, women are often ignorant of their rights, and there
is substantial societal pressure placed upon women not to
prosecute cases of domestic violence. According to women's
rights advocates, nondomestic violence against women is not
generally tolerated by traditional or civil authorities.
Victims usually report attacks, and legal action is taken.
However, in June a senior police officer said that there had
been an increase in cases of rape and defilement and appealed
to the public to report officers who did not respond to reports
of such cases. In crimes against women where rape, serious
injury, or death occurs, men—including husbands—may receive
sentences up to, and including, the death penalty. On
November 22, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence of
a man who killed a woman for refusing to have sex with him.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Zambia has a history of strong labor union organizations,
dating from the establishment of the copper mines during the
1930' s. According to the Minister of Labor, 50 percent of
Zambia's 380,000 formal sector workers are unionized. Zambia's
19 large national unions are organized by industry or
profession. Until 1991 only one union per industry was legal,
and all unions were members of the Zambia Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU), the sole legal confederation under the
Industrial Relations Act of 1971. The ZCTU is democratic,
regularly conducts open elections to select its leadership, and
frequently criticizes government policy on subjects such as
wages, economic policy, conditions of service, and labor
representation in party and government organs. During the
political campaign, the ZCTU threw its support behind the MMD
and former ZCTU chairman, now President, Frederick Chiluba.
Deteriorating economic conditions and sharp increases in the
cost of living led to widespread labor unrest in 1991 and
numerous strikes, boycotts, and "go slows." Under existing
legislation, strikes are permitted only after all other
recourse has been exhausted. In practice, virtually all
strikes are illegal, since they almost always commence before
the mandatory process of mediation has run its course. The
Government normally has relied on persuasion and continued
mediation to end strikes once they have begun. Most strikes
have terminated with increased wage settlements and without
government action against the unions.
In January 1991, President Kaunda signed into law the
controversial Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1990. The Act
revises the law relating to trade unions, the ZCTU, the
Industrial Relations Court, recognition of collective
agreements, settlement of collective disputes, strikes and
lock-outs, essential services and works councils. Under the
new and old Acts, all workers have the right to strike except
those in the Zambia defense force, judicial service, police
force, prison service, and security intelligence service.
The ZCTU and the Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) view the
new IRA as an attempt to undermine organized labor and
employers organizations. Under the Act, unions previously
under the umbrella of the ZCTU are disaffiliated and can only
rejoin the ZCTU or any other national or international union or
association if a two-thirds majority of members vote to do so.
The ZCTU sued the State over the new IRA on the grounds that
the two thirds vote requirement was inconsistent with the right
to freedom of association and expression. On March 22, the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) lodged
a formal complaint with the International Labor Organization
(ILO) that the new IRA violates ILO conventions. The
Government argued the opposite, that in fact the law improved
workers' rights of association and freed unions from compulsory
association with the ZCTU. Although the IRA was legally still
in effect at the close of 1991, the new MMD Minister of Labor
called portions of the Act unconstitutional, unreasonable, and
unworkable and promised to present the issue to the Cabinet
soon with an eye toward repeal. After the elections, the ZCTU
joined a number of other African countries in abandoning the
policy of the continentwide official trade union body, the
Organization of African Trade Union Unity, which prohibits
affiliations outside Africa, and was accepted as a member of
the ICFTU.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The new IRA gives the Minister of Labor the right to
unilaterally deny the right to unionize to any person, trade,
or industry. The Act reduces the ZCTU's jurisdiction in
internal affairs of a union and perpetuates the existence of
heretofore UNIP-dominated works councils. The works councils
have powers that can conflict with union-employer relationships
and that usurp some of the responsibilities normally reserved
for decision between unions and employers, such as conditions
of service, recruitment, salary assessments, transfers,
bonuses, and safety issues.
In February, before lodging its complaint with the ILO, the
ICFTU urged President Kaunda not to enforce the new IRA or a
bill on wages and working conditions in the public services.
The ICFTU argued that application of these laws would put an
end to collective bargaining and would cripple the trade union
movement by ending the check-off system. These antiunion
provisions will probably be scrapped when the new IRA is
reviewed.
The new IRA was condemned by both workers and employers
organizations as being designed to cripple trade unions and
employers organizations. The thrust of the legislation was to
give the Government, not employers, more power to control the
creation and dissolution of unions, collection of dues, and
operation of workers councils. At the same time, the law
specifically prohibited an employer or any person acting on his
behalf from preventing or deterring an employee from taking
part in the formation of a trade union, joining a union,
participating in the activities of a trade union, becoming an
officer, or being elected or appointed to hold office.
Similarly, employers were prohibited from dismissing,
penalizing, or discriminating against any employee who
exercised those rights, or from taking any action against an
employee on the grounds that he was or was not a member of a
trade union.
Following the announcement in 1990 that export and customs free
zones would be established, no further action was taken.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited by the
Constitution. Forced labor is prohibited except as consequence
of a sentence or court order, by members of the military, by
conscientious objectors in lieu of military service, as labor
required during wartime or other national emergency, or in the
conduct of communal or civic obligations. These prohibitions
are observed and not abused.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
According to the Minister of Labor, the minimum age for
employment of children is 16. This and other age restrictions
apply to the industrial sector, where, because of adult
unemployment, there are few employees under age 16. The Labor
Commissioner effectively enforces the law in industry. There
is, however, little enforcement for the vast majority of
Zambians who work in the subsistence agricultural and domestic
service sectors, where persons under age 14 are often
employed. In urban areas, children commonly engage in street
trading. According to a Central Statistical Office survey
published in April 1991, in 1986 approximately 15 percent of
the 12 to 14 age group was in the rural or urban labor force.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
In 1991 the Government established a minimum monthly wage rate
for all employees except professionals, plus housing and
transportation allowances. However, each industry may also set
its own minimum wage rates above the legal floor through
collective bargaining. In industries where collective
bargaining is not effective, the Minister of Labor and Social
Services sets the minimum wage rate for employees in positions
such as delivery assistants, general workers, and office
orderlies. These "minimums" are insufficient to provide an
adequate standard of living. Most Zambian workers must
supplement their incomes through second jobs, some subsistence
farming, or reliance on the extended family.
The normal workweek is 40 hours, but it is not a legal
maximum. The legal maximum workweek for nonunionized workers
is 48 hours. The minimum for full-time employment is 40
hours. Maximum limits for unionized workers vary. For
example, the legal maximvmi for unionized guards is 72 hours per
week. There are legal requirements for annual leave (2 days
per month of service).
Zambian law regulates minimum health and safety standards in
any industrial undertaking. Enforcement of industrial safety
in the mines is the responsibility of the Department of Mines.
In March the state-owned mining company reported that disabling
injuries had been reduced by 32 percent. Factory safety is
handled by the Inspector of Factories under the Minister of
Labor, but staffing problems chronically limit enforcement
effectiveness. The Inspector of Factories reported in January
that 280 workers were injured, 5 fatally, in various industrial
accidents during 1990.
