Workers in the hotel and tourism industry in Zambia are upset with Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda, arguing that he is failing to resolve disputes and other grievances facing the employees.
Hotel, Tourism and Allied Workers Union of Zambia Southern province regional secretary Morris Sangulube said the workers in the industry felt betrayed and disappointed by Shamenda who has stopped listening to workers.
He said the workers had tried in vain to get their matters addressed by government labour officers and Livingstone district commissioner Omar Munsanje.
He said there were several notorious foreign investors who had continued to abuse Zambian workers with impunity.
He said the latest case involved a foreign investor based at Livingstone Adventures Daan Brink who was abusing Zambian workers racially.
“We want Brink to be deported because the government has deported bad businessmen in the past. Even Brink has to be treated the same. He has violated our labour laws. We want the government to do something urgently,” he said.
Sangulube said government labour officers in Livingstone were fond of having one sided meetings with investors instead of resolving matters with all the parties involved.
He said a petition was lodged with the ministry of labour about grievances in the Livingstone tourism sector. He said Shamenda must move from the comfort of his office to go to livingstone and resolve the challenges facing workers. He said it was government responsibility to protect Zambian workers from abuse.
Sangulube said there was a cartel of foreign investors that was intimidating workers in the Livingstone tourism industry and discouraging them from joining and forming trade unions.
But Labour minister Fackson Shamenda said he was not aware of of the trouble in Livingstone.
He said government cannot afford to scare away invwstors just because a few Zambian workers had complained.
And Brink, who has been accused of racism declined to respond to press queries.
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