President signs law to end casualisation of labour

Zambian President Edgar Lungu has assented to a bill that ends casualisation of labour in the southern African nation, a senior government official said on Wednesday. According to the new law, no employer will be allowed to terminate employment of a worker without a valid reason but it does not protect non-performing and indisciplined employees from being punished or dismissed.

Minister of Labor and Social Security Fackson Shamenda said the Zambian leader signed the new law on 26 November and that it came into effect on 3 December 2015.

"The signing of the bill into law is a new year present to Zambian workers the majority of whom have for a long time suffered exploitation and abuse of their rights through casualisation. The amendment of the law means that casualisation of labor has come to an end," he told reporters during a press briefing. "The amendment of the law means that it is illegal for any employer to engage and employee on a casual basis for any job that is of a permanent nature," he added.

The government, he said, decided to speed the process of amending the law following a rampant abuse of workers' rights in the country. The government will soon introduce a toll-free hotline to allow workers to report work injustices.
The relief that the law brings is the protection of jobs for the workers, he added. (The Namibian, Windhoek)