Malawi civil servants plan another wage strike

Another strike is looming in Malawi’s civil service following dissatisfaction over how government has handled the civil servant’s salary increase in the 2013/2014 budget.

The Civil Servants Trade Union (CSTU) on Friday was forced to organise an impromptu meeting with its members at Capital Hill where the workers expressed concerns that there were not happy with the 30 percent increase in the wage bill, which they fear would mean salary increases less than the 61 percent effected in February 2013.

The workers asked why Minister of Finance Ken Lipenga was silent on the civil servant salaries when he presented the budget in Parliament on May 24.

CSTU President Ellia Kamphanda Banda confirmed having met the union members saying the civil servants were not happy with what has been offered in the current budget.

Kamphinda Banda and Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) Secretary General Dennis Kalekeni confering ; Plot nother strike action
Kamphinda Banda and Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) Secretary General Dennis Kalekeni confering ; Plot nother strike action

“Our meeting was aimed at updating them what we discussed with the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) on Thursday and our majot concern is what is in the wage bill in the 2013/2014 budget. The civil servants feel that it should have been slightly above that, that is just too little,” he said.

He said, as a union, it was worried that government presented the 2013/2014 financial plan without meeting the workers.

In a statement on Friday the GNT assured civil servants that despite Lipenga’s silence in his budget statement, they will have their salaries revised.

“Government wishes to assure all Civil Servants that their salaries will be revised accordingly after the GNT and the CSTU have entered into the next round of negotiations,” reads the statement.

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