Demands for the deportation of abusive Intercontinental hotel Manager

The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called on government to immediately deport Intercontinental Hotel Assistant General Manager Michael Naber for abusing workers’ rights and threatening them with dismissals.

And the union movement has called on government to reintroduce the Civil Service Management courses at the National Institute for Public Administration (NIPA) so as to inculcate knowledge on how to handle disciplinary procedures in government and parastatal institutions.

ZCTU Secretary General Cosmas Mukuka has told a media briefing in Lusaka that the union is appalled by the behavior of management at Intercontinental hotel where workers have lost dignity and are working in fear due to the heavy handedness of management.

Mr. Mukuka recalls that last year, Intercontinental Hotel dismissed about 130 workers on allegations that they went on an illegal strike and it had to take the intervention of the Hotels and Catering Workers Union of Zambia and the Ministry of Labour to intervene and for 96 workers to be reinstated.

Mr. Mukuka states that workers at the hotel followed the law before going on strike by taking all steps required to call for a strike, therefore it cannot be true that workers went on an illegal strike.

He adds that despite a directive from the Ministry of Labour to reinstate the remaining 34 workers, management at Intercontinental hotel has been adamant.

The ZCTU Secretary General adds that they have information that hotel management wants to cut the workforce from 290 to 150 workers.

Mr Mukuka says ZCTU will not support any move to increase unemployment in the country because this is against government efforts of creating jobs for people.

And Mr. Mukuka has called on the Zambia Police Service in Ndola to arrest and charge a senior High Court official who slapped a general worker within the court premises.

Mr. Mukuka says the action by the High Court senior officer agitated workers at the court who are demanding that Police arrest him for assault.

He wonders why police are shielding the officer in question from facing the law.

QFM NEWS