IT is heartening to hear that negotiations for improved conditions of service for civil servants between the Government and the unions are set to resume after nearly a year’s lag.
This follows a directive by President Edgar Lungu on Labour Day that the Ministry of Labour should reopen dialogue with the unions over contentious issues surrounding the labour industry.
Top on the list of the meeting is the issue of the wage freeze that the Government had imposed in 2013 and which the public service unions were against.
This was despite both parties having valid reasons as to why the policy should or should not stand.
The resolution therefore to open up negotiations is welcome as it is an indication that trade unions are willing to work with the Government in ensuring that a win-win situation in every sphere in the labour industry is achieved.
Issues of industrial unrest have always been detrimental to the economic prospects of any country and this is why in the first instant it was prudent that the unions and the Government dialogue over the wage freeze.

 
As indicated; the negotiations on conditions of service are set to commence this week with affiliate unions to the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) meeting ahead of a scheduled indaba with the Government.
It is important that as unions meet to strategise, they should table useful ideas that would help the Government formulate policies that would sustain the labour industry in the long-term.
Interim measures are as useful but long-term solutions are usually the safe way to deal with a problem.
The people in Government have been tasked to take this nation forward and the output can be enhanced further by input from the people who voted them into those offices.
Dialogue between the Government and the labour unions should go beyond the wage freeze and include other policies that can be brought to the fore on the round-table.
There are issues of the retirement age for instance; that received mixed feelings from some sections of society and this is one issue that can be placed on the round table in search of an amicable solution.
The duty of trade unions is not to criticise or indeed shower praises when the sitting Government makes a pronouncement on changes in the labour industry.
Trade unions as representatives of workers should be there to supplement Government efforts in ensuring that workers are operating in a friendly environment.
Each sector has its own challenges and workers in the Public Service are no different from those in the private sector and this is why we emphasise on the importance of dialogue.
It is not right for workers in some private entities to operate without union representation and this among other issues is something that the Government and the unions can collectively address as they dialogue.  OPINION