April 2006 Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket: JCTR Says Present Employment Situation must not be a Way of Life, Labour Day Celebrations must Advance Action
Abstract
As Zambia celebrates Labour Day, there is an urgent need for pragmatic steps in addressing the country’s employment situation beyond considerations of the informal sector as a buffer to the situation, says the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR). In a situation such as obtaining in Zambia where a huge number of the population is competing for very few formal sector jobs, there is a compelling need of a corresponding large scale and well planned type of response beyond current initiatives -- including a serious examination of our education system to address the problem. “I see the necessity of tackling this problem from a very serious political, social, economic and moral point of view,” says Muweme Muweme Coordinator of the Social Conditions Research Project of the JCTR.
Description
The JCTR has always contended that government actions, review of policy or legal reform must
relate to people’s real life experiences. In addition, it has been the position of the JCTR that the
minimum wage be tied to the cost of essential food and non-food items. For example, the JCTR
Basic Needs Basket that measures cost of living for a family of six in Lusaka and other urban areas
(Livingstone, Kabwe, Ndola, Kitwe and Luanshya) recorded the cost of food in Lusaka at K498,800
and that of essential non-food items at K909,900 in the month of April.