More civil servants demand promotions within 14 days: Goodall says not feasible

Civil Servants Trade Union  (CSTU) has given government  14 days  ultimatum to promote those in mainstream civil service to give them higher-pay-grades as it has done with teachers  and  police officers or else there will be  mass strike.

In a statement dated April 29 2019 and co-signed by CSTU president Joseph Mdambo  and general secretary Madalitso Njolomole,  the union claims some civil servants have not been promoted for over 10 years while some have upgraded their qualifications and should be promoted before voters cast their ballots on May 21 .

The Malawi Public Service Regulation says a civil servant is eligible for promotion after every four  years and commentators say promotions should be made not as an appeasement  for electoral purposes but it should be deserving, not the one-size-fit-all that the Peter Mutharika administration has done to teachers that ended up have the deceased and retired getting promoted.

The union had accused government of making “segregative promotions”.

Reads the statement seen by Nyasa Times: “In view of this development, CSTU wishes the government to note that some civil servants upgraded themselves with diploma, degrees and master’s degrees while others have been on the same grade for more than 10 years.

“CSTU, therefore, demands government to use the same criteria and methodology which applied to promoting fellow workers teaching and police services.”

The letter demanding promotion has been handed by the union to government’s Chief Secretary Lloyd Muhara at Office of President and Cabinet.

The demand, if affected, could dig a bigger hole in the national budget whose wage bill the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have already judged to be unsustainable.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Goodall Gondwe has since said 14-day ultimatum given by CSTU is not feasible and government will not act on it.

Gondwe said promotion is not demanded because “it will no longer be a promotion but a general salary increase.”

He said government cannot afford implementing  a general salary increase if civil servants too can be promoted.