Truck drivers under Professional Drivers Union, Truck Drivers Union of Malawi and Bulk Vehicle Operators Trade Union have expressed dismay over the proposed minimum wage for drivers.
The truck drivers have since threatened to go back to the streets if the matter is not addressed with urgency.
At its December 6 2023 meeting in Lilongwe, the Minimum Wage Committee of the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council (TLAC) resolved that the minimum wage for truck drivers below 30 tonnes, which was at K60,000.00 per month, be increased to K104,500.00 per month.
The meeting also resolved that the minimum wage for local truck drivers who drive 30 tonnes and above be increased from K100,000.00 per month to K167,500 per month.
The meeting further agreed that salaries for international truck drivers carrying 30 tonnes be increased from K140,000.00 per month to K234,500 per month.
- Advertisement -
Ironically, the proposed new minimum wages came barely less than two months after the drivers and transporters had agreed, during a meeting on October 18 2023 in Lilongwe—chaired Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ephraim Chivunde—that the minimum wage should be K300,000.
Bulk Vehicle Operators Union Secretary General Matthews Sibale told The Daily Times that the proposed new minimum wage takes the drivers three steps backwards.
According to Sibale, following the November 8 2023 devaluation of the Kwacha by 44 percent, truck drivers were anticipating a minimum wage of K500,000.
“As such, it is an insult to be given K234,500,” he said.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Produm Vice General Secretary Macdonald Chilanga concurred with Sibale, saying the proposed minimum wage is on the lower side in the aftermath of devaluation.
Chilanga further said drivers feel cheated, adding that what is being proposed in the final analysis is below what they agreed.
The truck drivers also accused Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (Ecam) of proposing a minimum wage for the drivers during the TLAC meeting without consulting them.
But in an interview Sunday, Ecam Executive Director George Khaki said what TLAC agreed on are merely recommendations that go to the Minister of Labour for her final decision.
He said Section 54 of the Employment Act (2000) gives powers to the Minister of Labour to set minimum wages with due respect to the agreement that was reached with the President’s adviser.
“Ecam in TLAC doesn’t represent the interests of workers. They are represented by the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU).
“We can neither consult members that are not our constituents nor can we speak on their behalf. Ecam represents employers,” Khaki said.
Efforts to talk to Chivunde proved futile yesterday as his phone was out of reach.
Among other things, the TLAC meeting agreed to hike the general minimum wage from K50,000 to K83,750.
For domestic workers, there was no agreement because the meeting observed that applying the 67.5 percent increment would push the wage to K63,650.00 per month, which would not be affordable by the least paid worker at K83,750, further saying this could lead to non-compliance and unemployment in this sector.
The government and Ecam were of the view that the minimum wage for domestic workers should be fixed at K51,500 but MCTU maintained that 100 percent should be applicable, which would push the minimum wage to K76,000.00 per month for this sector.
