Govt slaps Teachers Union of Malawi with court injunction over strike

Government has slapped obtained Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) with a court injunction to force teachers back in class.

This has thrown the on-going negotiations between the government and TUM in disarray.

Willy Malimba the TUM president has confirmed that the union was served with the injunction immediately the leadership came out of the meeting it had with government representatives.

According to Malimba, TUM is surprised that government was at the court busy with the injunction when the meeting they arranged was still in progress.

Malimba said that the meeting they had with government representative on Thursday went well and they agreed to meet again tFriday for final stances.

But Malimba has said with the injunction, the meeting will no longer take place.

Meanwhile, Gospel Kazako, government spokesperson has asked for more time before he can comment on the matter.

Youth and Society (YAS) programmes manager Amos Simwela had warned that if the impasse is not resolved by Friday, it will engage its legal team to map the best way forward and hold nationwide protests next Tuesday.

“Government and TUM’s disagreements should never degenerate to the level of affecting the right to education of learners in public schools,” said Simwela.

Last year, schools were closed for five months due to Covid-19, and early this year, schools were also closed for five weeks following the second wave of the pandemic.