SADC DRIVERS DEMAND FOR SALARY INCREMENT

By NAMO PHIRI

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) Truck Drivers Association of Zambia says there is a need for the basic salary of K3000 for track drivers to be reviewed amidst the high cost of living.

Association Secretary General Jackson Banda said it was not fair that drivers continued to be subjected to low wages despite the high cost of living and economic hardships that the country has been undergoing.

Mr. Banda said the Association kept receiving complaints from the drivers about the high cost of living and were demanding for increased salaries.

He said the Association had continued to encourage the men and women behind the wheels to have patience but that it could no longer hold them back because things were getting out of hand.

He added that other fees such as those paid when getting a drivers’ license had also gone up, making the situation even harder for truck drivers.

“It is not fair and does not make sense that you want to improve lives in the country yet the one doing the job remains underpaid. So, we also need to be respected as drivers and people must see that everyone is happy,” Mr. Banda said.

He wondered why the Government workers’ salaries were being increased while those for truck drivers remained stagnant.

“Civil Servants have had their salaries adjusted upwards about three times but with us, it’s like we have been forgotten. You can imagine the principal salary for a truck driver being K3000 from 2020, but what can one do with a K3000 amidst the high cost of living?” he asked.

He expressed concern over what he called the continued side-lining of drivers’ conditions of service despite them being a vital sector that drove the country’s economic development agenda.

“Our sector has suffered the worst blow. We seem to be least cared for because whenever consideration is given to other sectors, we are never considered,” he said.

He said the Association was knocking on the door of the Government to address the challenges that were being faced by the drivers and improve their working conditions.