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The World Bank is coming under fire because of the terrible conditions experienced by some of its workers in Africa.



UNI has received reports from a Danish researcher who worked as a security guard in Zambia for 3 months. Observing the poor wages and conditions experienced by security workers, he wrote to the World Bank’s Zambian office, both in its capacity as a development organisation and as an employer of security guards.



The World Bank’s security guards in the capital city of Lusaka are paid the monthly rate of K289,000 (equivalent to USD82.50). This is less than a number of foreign embassies, less than other United Nations and charitable organisations. The minimum amount required to meet basic needs for a family of six in Lusaka is K1,941,350, around 7 times what the World Bank guards earn. The chart below shows that all of the organisations listed pay their guards less than this minimum.



As a leading international development institution, the World Bank has an obligation to promote sustainable development and eliminating poverty. A first step should be ensuring that its workers earn living wages. In addition, the letter suggested that the World Bank could take a number of initiatives to promote the interests of all security workers in Zambia, including changes in the labour law.



UNI is calling on the World Bank, and others operating in Zambia, to engage with their security service providers and ensure that their workers are being paid just wages, even where that means paying above the legislated minimum.