— ZDDM urges govt. to pay retrenched quasi govt. workers

—The opposition Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) has urged government to pay workers that were retrenched by quasi government institutions.

ZDDM president Edwin Sakala says the affected workers were laid off during the IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) are under going severe social-economic challenges to bare.

Mr. Sakala observed that some of the retrenches such as those that worked for Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC), Zambia National Wholesale and Marketing Company ( NWMC ) , Premium Oil, United Bus of Zambia (UBZ), Zambia Consumer Buying Corporation (ZCBC),  National Import and Export Company ( NIEC ) , Livingstone Motor Assembly and Eagle have since died from depression as poverty has ravaged their homes.

ZANIS reports that Mr. Saka said this in a statement released  in Lusaka today.

“As you may be aware, thousands of workers retrenched 23 years ago under the IMF/World Bank-SAP are still struggling   to get their terminal benefits while some have since passed away so l’m appealing to government to intervene in the plight of the affected workers,” Mr. Sakala said.

He expressed disappointment that the previous MMD government which adopted SAP allegedly did  not addressed the plight of the 1991 retrenchees.

He said the workers are now tired of going to the courts of law so that they could be paid their terminal benefits but in vain.

He said the former workers have now turned into destitutes thereby impacting on their families especially children who cannot go to school to attain education.

The ZDDM leader is optimistic that President Michael Sata is a man of action and he would soon respond by instructing Finance Minister to pay the affected retrenchees.