Striking truck drivers open borders after pay increase

Truck drivers who sealed Mwanza and Dedza borders on Wednesday to push for salary increase have now opened the country’s frontiers after authorities agreed to increase the salaries to K140, 000 a month from K60,000.

This follows marathon talks the drivers had with authorities at Mwanza border post this morning.

Spokesperson of Truck Drivers Association, Paul Kachitsa, says drivers who sealed Mwanza border wanted resolutions they made with government on Tuesday in Lilongwe to be documented and not only be verbal.

Besides, Kachitsa says the drivers were also looking for a pay hike which was not included in the Tuesday’s resolutions.

“There were some disagreements between us the Association and those drivers who said they wanted everything that we agreed with government to be on paper. So government and others have prepared the documents which have been signed and shared among all the concerned parties such as our employers, homeland security ministry and Malawi Police,” he said.

The development has consequently led to the reopening of the border post whose spokesperson, Pasqually Zulu, says is a good development.

“This is a sigh of relief. Our operations were halted since Wednesday. Now that they have called of the strike, it is a sigh of relief to us. When borders are open, it is good for the economy of our country,” he said.

We understand that among the commitments made, the drivers will be getting a monthly minimum pay of K140 thousand effective this December.

Normal flow of traffic has now returned at the border.

The strike disrupted the transportation of essential goods into the country.

Earlier today, officials from the Road Transporters Association, Ministry of Labour, Malawi Defence Force and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services met to find a way forward on the matter.

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