Poly strike continues

Malawi Polytechnic lecturers on Tuesday resolved to continue with their strike, claiming no salary increment offer has been extended to them.

But in a letter dated August 17 2012, government, through Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, made a 21 percent salary increment offer to University of Malawi (Unima) employees.

However, the Polytechnic Academic Staff Committee on Welfare (Pascow) and the Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (Ccasu) said the Unima Council, the employer, has not extended that communication to them.

Pascow secretary general Gift Khangamwa said they had a meeting on Tuesday and resolved to continue with their strike.

Khangamwa said upon receiving the communication, which he admitted he has seen, they would convene another meeting to discuss the offer in detail.

Government has ordered Unima to reduce the number of government-sponsored students from around 2000-plus to 900 to enable the institution to manage its subvention following the salary increment proposal.

Government has offered the 21 percent salary increment to the Unima staff, but a directive was made earlier by the Department of Statutory Corporations that a 15 percent salary increment it offered last week should not affect the Unima’s activities.

But latest communication from the Ministry of Education to Unima has been made offering the 21 percent salary increment on the grounds that intake of government-sponsored students be reduced to 900.

Chancellor College (Chanco) lecturers last week declared a dispute with Unima Council and gave the Ministry of Labour a 21-day notice to resolve the matter or else they would take an industrial action while the Polytechnic lecturers are already on strike.

Both Chanco and the Polytechnic are demanding a 113 percent salary increment.