MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) has called upon the government and other employers to provide for the citizens during the impending lockdown that begins from 18 April through 9 May, 2020.
In a press statement signed by the MCTU’s General Secretary, Denis Kalekeni, the Union has outlined some measures which government and employers can follow to mitigate the impacts of the lockdown.
“While it is a proven way of containing the spread of the virus as evidenced by experiences in other countries, it is a significant and devastating shock to the already precarious and fragile livelihoods of the majority of the citizens and workers. A lockdown situates the majority of citizens and workers between prevention from contracting the deadly Covid 19, on the one hand and starvation and destitution, on the other,” reads the statement in part.
Therefore, MCTU has urged the government and employers to provide financial packages and cash transfers to vulnerable workers and households, protection of jobs and social security, reduction of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) threshold from MK40, 000 to MK100, 000 until such a time economic activities shall come back to normal; among other measures so as to mitigate the impact of the lockdown on the livelihood of the citizens and workers.
Malawi Congress of Trade Unions has joined other activist organizations like the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiative (CDEDI) and Citizens For Transformation (CFT) which have called upon the government to rescind the decision on lockdown considering the social economic status of the majority of Malawians.
On Tuesday, President Mutharika announced a 21 day national lockdown as a new measure to prevent the further spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of April 15, 2020, Malawi had 16 cases of Covid-19 with two deaths.