Teachers threaten to go on strike over salary

The Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) has warned that all teachers in both primary and secondary schools in the public service will hold an industrial action in form of a sit-in from May 9 2016 if government fails to resolve their grievances.

This has been disclosed in petition issued sent to Ministry of Education of March 17 2016.

According to a petition seen by FaceofMalawi reporter, the grievances include adjustment of salaries for all teachers promoted in 2013 to Grade TK (PT3) as well salary adjustment for teachers promoted in 2013 to Grade TJ (PT2).

“TUM maintains that it is the responsibility of your Ministry to provide transport to all teachers who were promoted to Grade TJ in 2013 and ferry them to their new duty stations. Let it be brought to your attention that the said teachers have already reported to their new District Education Managers, travelling all such long distances using their own money. We hope it is within your knowledge that some of the teachers were posted all the way from Blantyre Urban to Mzimba South; Chikwawa to Nkhotakota; Mzuzu to Mzimba South and many more distant areas. To expect the teachers to transport themselves is totally inhuman and unacceptable by all teachers.

“We therefore demand that the teachers be provided with transport and award them their hard earned promotion or promote them while working in their initial schools as you grapple with their transport logistics. We also demand that the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano retracts his statement which he made through print media that Ministry of Education has withdrawn the above promotions because of failure of the teachers to report to their new duty stations. We wonder who is a failure in this particular case,” reads the statement in part.

Added the statement: “TUM has learnt with great shock that many of the teachers who were promoted in 2013 to Grade TK (PT3) and whose letters of promotion have already been issued to the said teachers, cannot have their salaries adjusted until vacancies are established in their various districts through deaths and retirement of the existing holders. This is incomprehensible and unacceptable by all means.”