Senior officers on duty as KIA staff strike

The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) on Monday deployed a skeleton team of its senior officers and some Malawi Defence Force (MDF) officers to manage Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) after regular staff abandoned their posts.

The aviation staff are demanding payment of allowances due to them for working during the duration of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Heads of State Summit the country hosted in August this year. The unpaid allowances for the 230 staff are estimated at about K22 million (about $55 000).

As the workers gathered outside the airport’s terminal building, the DCA management team, officials from the Ministry of Transport and the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) were reported to be in a meeting discussing a way forward.

Airport commandant David Kwatani declined to discuss the issue, just saying: “I really don’t have anything to say on the matter.”

Director of civil aviation Alfred Mtilatila was not available for comment as he was said to be in the meeting.

However, secretary general for DCA-KIA Workplace Committee, Teddy Chunda, said the staff resolved to abandon their posts after a failed peaceful attempt to resolve the matter.

He said: “During the [Sadc] summit, our working time was almost tripled because of the work load that was there. Surprisingly, of the four groups that work at the airport, it is only Civil Aviation and Meteorological Department staff who have not been paid any allowance.”

The four groups include staff from the Malawi Police Service, Immigration Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).

Chunda said prior to yesterday’s action, the workers had written OPC on September 2 2013 after noting that they were not being assisted and gave government 21 days up to September 22 2013.

Chunda said last Friday union leaders met for a way forward and agreed to have a meeting with KIA and DCA management, Ministry of Transport officials and leaders of Civil Service Trade Union (CSTU).

The Nation

established that while DCA skeleton senior staff is manning the actual airport, the MDF officers are manning the fire fighting equipment. Some of the workers said MDF moved in because the fire department at KIA has only three senior members who are not enough to do the job.

However, Chunda expressed concern about the involvement of the MDF officers in handling aeronautical services at such a civilian facility.