By KASONDE KASONDE –
THE National Union of Communication Workers (NUCW) has condemned Monday’s protest by Zambia Postal Services Corporation (Zampost) workers demanding the removal of management.
Zampost workers staged a protest outside the Lusaka Main Post Office demanding the removal of management whom they accused of under-paying them.
Police arrested six of them for unlawful assembly but they were later released.
NUCW president Reuben Kayombo said the protest by staff at the Lusaka office was illegal and attracted disciplinary action as the workers disregarded the code of conduct for the institution.
He said the issues that the workers were raising were not new as the union and management had met and addressed the demands over the K500 deduction from their salaries following the financial difficulties that the company was facing.
Mr Kayombo said the K500 issue was sorted out and it was reflecting on their payslips.
NUCW general secretary Richard Mulenga said the workers had been addressed and informed that their action could lead to dismissals.
“They have put the union in a difficult situation as we are now engaging management over these possible disciplinary cases,” Mr Mulenga said.
He said calm had returned to the Lusaka Main Post Office and that management had since been engaged the workers to see the way forward.
He said the contracts that the workers were complaining about were meant for post offices that were making losses as an intervention to mitigate the suffering of employees who would be affected by retrenchments.
Mr Mulenga said all the workers had been sensitised on the contracts to avoid misunderstandings and to prepare the loss-making post offices that would be affected.