By MWANGALA LISELI-
SHOPRITE Zambia has upgraded conditions of service for its casual employees and has offered them a 21 per cent salary increment in the new collective agreement signed last week.
The new conditions of service will see all casual employees upgraded to permanent flexi-timer workers who will also be paid on a monthly basis like permanent employees.
In the new collective agreement signed with the National Union for Commercial Industrial Workers (NUCIW), Shoprite Zambia has also allowed the permanent flexi-timer employees to join the union.
NUCIW general secretary Seth Paraza said at the signing ceremony on Friday that the newly improved salaries will see employees get a minimum of K4.1 per hour to K5.81 per hour representing a 21 per cent minimum increase.
Mr Paraza said the employees would get paid monthly instead of the previous weekly or fortnightly wages.
He said the union was proud to be part of the transformation which was negotiated with an entirely Zambian team led by Shoprite Zambia general manager Charles Bota.
Out of 1,100 former casual workers, 334 have been confirmed into permanent employment with the remaining 766 put on the improved permanent contracts departing from the casual employment.
“It is our hope that all other employers in Zambia shall follow the good example that Shoprite has developed,” Mr Paraza said.
He said the Recognition Agreement was a milestone which gave casual workers the right to belong to the union and their emoluments would annually be negotiated by the union.
Mr Bota said the signing event was important as it reaffirmed the commitment of shoprite to harmonise relationships with organised labour.
Mr Bota said long- term and sustainable job creation was one of the important goals that Shoprite regarded to facilitate its strong store opening programme across Africa.