Shamenda asks international community to raise funds for developing countries

Minister of Labour and Social Security Fackson Shamenda has called on the international community to secure additional financial resources for developing countries.

Mr. Shamenda said the finances should be disbursed to developing countries in order to mitigate challenges such as climate change taking into account tripartism, transparency and accountability.

Addressing the 102^nd session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva yesterday, Mr. Shamenda said there was need to scale up implementation of affordable and sustainable technology for capacity building programmes.

He said Zambia had partnered with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on programmes aimed at promoting employment.

Mr. Shamenda further stated that Zambia has incorporated social protection as a poverty reduction strategy in the Sixth National Development Plan which runs from 2011 to 2015.

He said a technical team has already been put in place to spearhead social security reforms which include extension of coverage to the informal economy.

Mr. Shamenda said social health insurance schemes will also be used to address the dual problem of inadequate finances to the health sector.

The Minister of Labour also revealed that his ministry had reached an advanced stage in overhauling the outdated labour laws.

Mr. Shamenda said government was consulting with social partners to ensure that the final product meets the general expectations.

He also said government has paid attention to gender balance as regards recruitment of women into key positions.

At the same meeting, Zimbabwean Labour and Social Services Minister Parina Mpariwa said ILO has been in the forefront of ensuring that the rights of workers were up held.

Ms. Mpariwa said there was need for multilateral coherence as the world plans for the future.

The Zambian tripartite delegation to the 102^nd International Labour Conference is being led by Labour and Social Security Mr. Shamenda.

It consists of senior officials, trade union leaders and employers’ representatives who are also participating in the conference.

This year’s theme is on building a future with decent work.

The agenda for this year’s ILC include the topics of employment and social protection floor in the new demographic context and sustainable development, decent work and green jobs.

The conference, which started on the 5^th of June, ends on the 20^th of June 2013.