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 The history of staff associations representing workers in the Civil Service in this country dates back to the 1940s. There existed then, associations for white Civil Servants only.
As in the case of African Civil Servants were not allowed to form or belong to trade unions or even associations which performed similar functions as trade unions at that time.
Even when African workers were later allowed to form and belong to trade unions, the Government of the day was reluctant to let African Civil Servants to organise themselves in the manner white Civil Servants had.
So, we see a situation where only white staff associations existed for Civil Servants during the colonial era. Among these, the major ones were the Northern Rhodesia European Civil Servants Association, her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service Association of Northern Rhodesia and the Designated Officers Association of Northern Rhodesia. This remained the position at the time of independence.
After Zambia attained its independence from Britain, African Civil Servants felt it was time they organised them selves and formed their own staff association.
 The more radical among the African Civil Servants decided to form fully-fledged trade unions. The following were thus formed, the Zambia Localised Civil Servants Association, Zambia Civil Servants Union and the National Union of Health Employees. Meanwhile, two of the staff associations for whites changed their names.
The Northern Rhodesia European Civil Servants Association became Zambia Civil Servants Association and Designated Officers Association of Northern Rhodesia became the Expatriate Civil Servants Association of Zambia. Her majesty's overseas Civil Service Association became defunct.
There were, by 1966, three staff association and two unions for workers in the Civil Service. Two of the three associations represented whites, namely the Zambia Civil Servants Association and the Expatriate Civil Servants Association of Zambia. The third association and the two unions catered for African Civil Servants. These were the Zambia Localised Civil Servants Association, the Zambia Civil Servants Union and the National Union of Health Employees.
All these organisation were duly registered under the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance which was the labour legislation in force in the country at the time.
Although, all the five organisations were registered, the Government as the employer of the workers represented by these organisations did not recognise all the five organisations.
The Government only recognised the employer and without recognition, they were subsequently de-registered in 1967. Thus, only three associations to which Civil Servants could belong remained on the scene at the beginning of 1968 and this was the position up to the beginning of 1969.
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