Health Care Workers in Government and CHAM Health Facilities, have again threatened to down their tools from Wednesday this week if government will not raise their allowances.
Since last year, health workers have been negotiating with government through the Ministry of Health, the Malawi Human Rights Commission, and the National Organization of Nurses and Midwives (NONM) and Physicians Union of Malawi (PAUM) to raise their allowances.
They have been complaining that their salaries do not meet their demands on daily basis saying the impact of devaluation has greatly and negatively affected them such that they can no longer survive for the whole month with the salaries that they are currently getting.
However, government has been reluctant to address the their concern a development which saw through NONM and PAUM announcing to go on strike from 2nd May, 2024, but the strike was called off after Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda intervened.
The Minister pleaded for two more weeks on assurance to address their grievances. As the ultimatum will be expiring on Tuesday, the Health Workers has threatened to proceed with their planned strike from Wednesday 15th May, 2024 should the ministry frustrate them again.
In a letter addressed to all hospital directors and copied to the ministry, the concerned health workers say “We therefore write to inform your honorable offices that we as health care workers on the ground are not expecting any frustration from the feedback that shall come after the expiry of the 14 day ultimatum.
“We therefore write to inform you that if the feedback does not meet our expectation, we shall have our tools down effective the 15th day of May, 2024. We shall never entertain further meetings with the officials from any ministry or political grouping on the same.”
The concerned health workers say during that time, any negotiations with NONM and PAUM shall never work because they shall no longer accept anything from the two organizations.
