COST OF LIVING STUDY: HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
Aims of Project:Advocacy Objective: to improve conditions for workers in Zambia by establishing a "poverty datum line" that would serve as a basis for wage negotiations in an effort to bring about sustainable livelihood and poverty eradication.
Policy Change: Wages adequate to meet cost of living and to improve the livelihood.
- To determine actual cost of living of primary school teacher in Lusaka
- To raise public awareness about the wage situation of teachers, their poverty levels and its impact on education
- To widen and deepen wage policy debate already begun through JCTR "food basket survey"
Background: This project builds on the work of the "food basket survey" by targeting a specific group to determine their economic circumstances. Why target primary school teachers? Because teachers have such a tremendous impact on the future development of the country.
Activities |
Results |
Verification |
Responsibilities |
Conduct household survey |
Data gathered to show economic conditions |
Clear picture of conditions, coping, consequences |
JCTR staff and assistants from the University of Zambia |
Publicise widely results to get public attention |
Advocacy grows for "poverty datum line" |
Increase awareness and debate |
JCTR staff |
Evaluation: The Project will be evaluated in terms of how wide has been the public understanding of the need for wages to match the cost of living and how active has been the response of stakeholder (e.g., government, teachers' unions, PTA's, NGOs, etc.) to secure policy changes.
Partners: The Project necessarily must cooperate with other NGOs interested in education issues, with trade unions, with groups working on economic reform issues (e.g., SAP), etc. Initial contacts have already been made with groups like ZNUT (Zambia National Union of Teachers) and SAP monitoring Project.
Capacity: The Project will build on the experience of the JCTR staff in conduction and publicising the very successful and well-known "food basket survey." We will also utilise very good connections with the Economics Department at the University of Zambia and with education professionals.
Responsible person: Alex Muyebe, the Director of the Economic and Social Research Development Project and the Co-ordinator of the Cost of Living Study.
