Healthcare workers want order lifted
Healthcare workers have moved to challenge a court order stopping them from staging an industrial action in their pursuit for implementation of promotions and salary reviews.
Physician Assistants Union of Malawi (Paum) president Solomon Chomba said in an interview yesterday that they have already made relevant court submissions on the matter.
He said: “We are indeed working on lifting the injunction and asking the court to enforce the conciliation agreement as provided for in the Labour Relations Act.
“We trust that the process will be expedited for the sake of quality health service delivery in our country through a motivated healthcare workforce.”
Senior State advocate Francis MacJessie, who is representing the Ministry of Health, said in a separate interview yesterday that the two parties are yet to agree on a date for the pre-hearing conference.
In the matter, Ministry of Health is facing its workers under Paum and National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives in Malawi (Nonm) who are pushing for enforcement of the February 13 2024 conciliation agreement.
On his part, lawyer representing Nonm and Paum, Mauya Msuku, said the matter is set for July 24 2024 in the Industrial Relations Court.
On whether government had officially written to health staff on the reported adjustment of top-up and professional allowances, Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said talks were still ongoing between the two parties.
But Chomba said it was not true to suggest that there were ongoing negotiations between the government and health staff unions.
On June 10, healthcare workers staged a nationwide sit-in to force government to increase the health sector allowances.
The sit-in paralysed various health services as the skeleton staff that was put in place only attended to emergencies.
