Malawi army soldiers force truck drivers release fuel tankers as union leaders go back to Capital Hill

Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers on Wednesday forced striking truck drivers to release five fuel tankers.

The tankers were carrying fuel for Electricity Generation Company (Egenco), the country’s main producer of power, but the strike for the truck drivers continued in Lilongwe, paralysing the cargo industry.

The truck drivers sent their union leaders back to Capital Hill for further negotiations, saying they were not happy with the K60 000 to K140 000 bracket salary increase.

The Lilongwe truck drivers have been detaining any vehicle from three tonnes and above, parking them at Kanengo.

However, in Blantyre, the truck drivers there have called off the strike.

One of the officials of the union said they were happy with the direction of negotiations between the task force and the government on the issue.

Trucks were all over Blantyre carrying goods without any disturbance.