Simukoko Condemns HRC over Horse Shoe Restaurant saga

Sun, 25 Dec 2016 10:45:55 +0000

By MAILESI BANDA

THE Human Rights Commission was wrong in issuing a statement on social media over the racism claims at the Horse Shoe Restaurant when they could have brought it to the attention of the Ministry of Labour,  and will, therefore, complain to the President over the matter, Labour and Social Security Minister Joyce Simukoko has said.

The Minister said there was need for the department to submit the report to the Ministry of Labour since they were both government entities.

She said the Ministry of Labour has been crowned as being corrupt a status that is not good and would make people lose confidence and trust in the institution, adding that while the Human Rights Commission targeted on the rights of workers the Ministry of Labour was investigating racism claims.

“I went there and spoke to the workers individually and the only complaints I got from them were over delayed payments of overtime, being over charged when they break utensils and the lack of a labour movement. There was nothing related to racism that the workers reported,” she said.

She refuted claims that she interviewed the workers in the presence of their employers.

“I can’t be so stupid to interview the workers in the presence of their employers. I was a labour leader for a long time and have handled such cases before,” she said.

Mrs Simukoko said the owners of the Horse Shoe Restaurant were Zambians from the Northern Province and wondered the basis of the accusations that they were foreigners.

“The owners of that restaurant are coloured’s from the Northern Province, so how can they be racists when they are not whites themselves. They have suffered injustice,” she said.

She advised people to ensure that they have their facts right before making accusations.