The National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives (Nonm) and the Physician Assistants Union of Malawi (Paum) have accepted government’s offer that their salaries should be raised by 15 percent like is the case with all other civil servants.
This is according to a communique that Nonm and Paum on one hand and government on the other have jointly issued.
However, the two organisations have proposed that government should raise allowances for all health workers in the country.
Initially, they were demanding a 44 percent salary adjustment to match the 44 percent Kwacha devaluation which the Reserve Bank of Malawi effected in November last year.
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Paum President Solomon Chomba confirmed the latest development.
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“The Secretary for Health has committed to engaging the Secretary of Treasury to raise the health sector-specific allowances… with arrears effective November 1, 2023,” Chomba said.
Among others, they health workers have proposed that risk allowances should increase from K20,000 to K150,000 for senior professionals and from K20,000 to K60,000 per month for junior staff.
Habiba Osman, Executive Secretary of the Malawi Human Rights Commission, which was the conciliator of the discussions between the government and the health workers, believes the agreement is a win-win for both parties.
“The Secretary for Health has committed to taking the issues to Treasury. The ball will be in Treasury’s hands. The demands are reasonable,” Osman said.
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The communiqué issued by parties in the matter says the Secretary for Health has also committed to engaging the Secretary for Human Resource Management and Development to adjust and safeguard all health sector-specific allowances.
“The Secretary of Health commits to engaging the Secretary of Human Resource Management and Development in consultation with Nonm and Paum on annual increments and to conduct promotional interviews for eligible health workers by the end of July 2024.
“The Secretary for Health commits to deploy additional health workers to all central hospitals and district councils within six months of signing this agreement (August 13, 2024),” the communique reads.
It adds that the Secretary for Health has also committed to engaging the Secretary of Local Government to ensure that staff deployed to district councils trickle down to health centres
