Civil servants promotion Sept
The Civil Service Trade Union (CSTU) and government have agreed to start promoting civil servants in September this year.
The promotions will benefit those who have served on one position for over six years, according to the two parties agreement.
The Government Negotiating Team (GNT) and CSTU leaders made the resolution at a meeting they held last Wednesday following a strike by civil servants last Monday.
A document co-signed by GNT chairperson Bright Kumwembe and CSTU president Joseph Mdambo on Friday indicates that the first phase of promotions will be effected by September 30 this year to promote employees from Grade K to I.
The document, which is binding, reads in part: “Government will issue a circular by June 2020 instructing all controlling officers to start the process of filling lower grade vacancies within the first quarter if 2020/2021 financial year.”
According to the document, the filling of vacancies is expected to be completed by July 31 this year which will create more vacancies for others from the lower grade to occupy in line with the guidelines stipulated in the Malawi Public Service Regulations.
CSTU began demanding promotions last year. Government promised that civil servants would be promoted in the 2019/20 financial year in which Treasury allocated K412 billion to the wage bill.
However, the civil servants issued a 21-day ultimatum, leading to their sit-in last Monday after government failed to honour its promise.
Mdambo said although they have called off the strike, they are yet to agree on the salary structure, which the union wanted revised to match parastatals.
He said: “We demanded two issues: that government should promote employees who have served at least six year and we also raised the issue of salary structure. But since government says it has not raised enough money due to coronavirus, we just demanded that they should give us a percentage of an increment which they gave us last year.
“We have called off the sit-in because of the commitment which government has shown, but we are yet to get the actual breakdown of those who are going to be promoted.”
Kumwembe declined to comment on the agreement, only hinting that promotions will be implemented in the 2020/21 fiscal year as they have been budget for.
He said: “Just refer to the agreement we have made in a document you have seen… Those promotions were budgeted for in the next financial year.”
In his budget presentation on Friday last week, Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha was silent on the allocation for promoting staff who have been on the same grade for six years or more.
CSTU general secretary Madalitso Njolomole said based on vacancies of established posts in the civil service, government will need to promote or recruit about 72 000 of people.
