Professional drivers cancel strike, opt for dialogue

Malawi: The Professional Drivers Union of Malawi (PRODUM) has called off its planned nationwide strike over allowance-related grievances in order to facilitate dialogue with the government, writes Watipaso Mzungu.

PDUM has called for a nationwide strike on September 19, 2022, citing the government's failure to raise their salaries and external travel allowances.

The union has advised its member drivers to take part in related protest actions, such as go-slow convoys, roadblocks, and gatherings near government buildings in major cities.

However, PRODUM General Secretary Mphatso Mollen told journalists on Monday morning that they have decided to give dialogue a chance before taking to the streets.

"It is true that the strike has been called off. "We will meet with the government to discuss our grievances," Mollen said.

Undule Mwakasungula, a Governance and Human Rights Activist and member of the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM), questioned the strike's motivation on Saturday, suspecting politics was at work.

BECAM Executive Director George Khaki was perplexed as to why the union was dragging the government into the dispute as if it were their employer.

"Wage and remuneration issues are contractual obligations between an employer and an employee. In this case, the government is not the employer of truck drivers, so the drivers' strike is misplaced because the government has failed to adjust the drivers' remuneration. The strike should be against their employers," Khaki said in a Saturday interview.