MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-Professional Drivers Union of Malawi (PDUM) has announced its plans to boycott duties in a bid to force transport business owners and the government to provide them with Personal Protective Equipment amid Covid 19 threats.
Speaking to the media, the Union’s Vice Secretary, Mphatso Moleni, said the decision was arrived at on noticing that the authorities are not paying serious attention to their safety.
“We feel our members are not safe because they are given Protective gears to protect themselves from the pandemic of Covid 19. We have tried; we wrote the Ministry of Health a letter, and all authorities like our bosses we also wrote them letters but they have not shown any concern about us,” said Moleni.
Should the strike of the professional drivers take effect, it means provision of essential goods like petroleum products may be affected.
Mid last year, the professional drivers staged a sit in to force their authorities to raise their salaries and allowances saying, the perks were just too little as compared to cost of living in the country.
The call to down tools by the professional drivers comes amidst fears that the country is not fully prepared to combat the Covid 19 which has already claimed two lives in Malawi and over one hundred lives across the world.
