MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) has today resumed the industrial action in form of a stay away in order to pressure government to provide them with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).
According to a memo which Maravi Post has seen, the union has says the stay away follows the expiry of a 7 day notice of the intention to resume the industrial action if government fails to pay Covid 19 risk allowances to public primary and secondary teachers plus Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs) lecturers in the country.
While confirming the development, TUM Presdent, Willie Malimba, said it is not their intention to resume the stay away but that government lacks seriousness.
“It is not our intention to make the children of Malawi suffer but the government seems not to care about the children or the welfare of teachers in Malawi. We have tried to go around some schools in the country and some teachers are still not working. When you ask why that is so, they tell you they are still waiting for the answer from the government. So, what we are trying to do make sure that the teacher can go there and work happily,” lamented Malimba.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) Executive Director, Benedicto Kondowe has continued to ask both government and TUM to find a lasting solution to the stand off for the sake of continuity of teaching and learning in the country.
The resumption of the teachers’ industrial action comes at a time when government seems to have paid a deaf ear to the one week ultimatum which the union gave the government to respond to their concerns.
