Health Sciences staff call off strike At Malawi
Malawi College of Health Sciences (MCHS) staff have called off their strike after reaching a consensus with government on their demands.
The staff started the strike on Monday to force management to align their salaries with other statutory corporations by giving them a 47 percent salary increment and pay outstanding pension premiums.
In an interview yesterday, deputy chairperson of the staff welfare committee for the college’s three campuses of Zomba, Blantyre and Lilongwe, Hellen Mwafulirwa said following a two-day meeting at Mponela in Dowa, representatives of the staff welfare committee, college management and government officials agreed that salaries for all members of staff be aligned with other statutory corporations effective July 1 2018.
The meeting also agreed that the staff will get a 10 percent salary increment and that their pension premium arrears will be paid to Nico Life Insurance by September 30 this year.
Said Mwafulirwa: “They have made a commitment that they will live up to their promises and we believe them. They promised to pay us in arrears from July 1 this year. We want peace to prevail and as I am talking now classes have resumed.”
She said among government officials who attended the meeting were officers from the Office of the President and Cabinet, Office of the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations and those from the Human Resources Department.
Meanwhile, students from the Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) Blantyre campus continued with their strike yesterday.
The students started the strike on Tuesday to protest the college’s decision to bar 20 first-year students from sitting end of year examinations due to outstanding tuition and accommodation fees balances.
In an interview yesterday, college registrar Lloyd Kambwiri said the decision by the students from Blantyre campus did not have the blessing of the students’ union and that the union held a meeting and was expected to submit to college authorities whatever they will agree for consideration.