Hotels, lodges hotspots of sextortion – ZCTU
By Ludia Ngwadzai
THE Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has condemned sexual harassment and the abuse of workers in the hospitality industry
ZCTU president Blake Mulala urged workers in the sector to report cases to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security or ZCTU offices.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast, Mulala said ZCTU maintained its decision to boycott hotels that did not allow unions, citing cases of workers being deprived of benefits and rights.
“We have seen situations where women are denied Mother’s Day, and workers are kept as casuals for too long and beyond probation ,” he said.
“We maintain our stance. We will not give business to any hotel that does not allow its workers to belong to unions. In fact, we will extend this to our affiliate unions not to give business to such selfish hotels.”
Mulala urged workers to stand together against sexual harassment, citing disturbing cases of abuse in the hospitality industry .
“We have heard of cases where female employees are asked to sleep with their bosses to get confirmed in their jobs or have their contracts extended,” he said.
“This is unacceptable and we need to take action. Women, please, don’t allow to be sexually abused in exchange for jobs or for you to be confirmed.”
Mulala urged workers to report incidents of sexual abuse at work to the 7010 toll-free line or local labour offices, emphasising solidarity and collective action against abuse.
He also urgesd the Ministry of Labour to increase its inspectors to monitor compliance with labour laws.
“We need to support the Ministry of Labour in enforcing labour laws and protecting workers’ rights,” Mulala said.
“We can’t continue to tolerate this kind of abuse. We need to stand together and fight for our rights.”
He commended some employers who have shown willingness to allow workers to join unions, saying this was a positive step towards improving workers welfare.
However, he warned that hotels that continued to deny workers the right to join unions would face consequences.
“We will continue to push for better working conditions and respect for workers’ rights,” Mulala said.
“We will not be silenced by those who seek to exploit and abuse our members.”
