Lilongwe Shop and Domestic Workers Association planned march on Tuesday for pay rise of over 140 percent was foiled by the police.
The association is demanding that the shop workers salary should be increased from K90 000 to K220 000 per month while that of domestic workers should increase from K52 000 to K180 000.
In an interview, Lilongwe Shops and Domestic Workers Association chairperson Jaffar Albdu Rahman said the workers have been pushing for the salary increase to align with the high cost of living, but their employers have not responded favourably.
He said the workers are struggling to put food on the table due to the skyrocketing prices of goods, arguing their current salaries cannot sustain their lives.
The workers on Tuesday downed tools to present their petition to government through Parliament, but their march was disrupted by police who fired tear gas canisters to disperse them.
Some of the marchers managed to find their way to Parliament to present the petition to the Ministry of Labour for action, but National Assembly security denied them entry into the Parliament Building premises, asking them to submit their petition to the district commissioner’s office instead.
Rahman said the employers are not fighting for a better life, but for their survival.
He said: “We are suffering. A bag of maize now costs K100 000, but as a shop worker I am getting K90 000, how do I take care of my family with such an amount?
“Government needs to hear our cry. There are thousands of people in this situation.”
Asked why the workers did not go to present the petition to the Ministry of Labour, Rahman said they have tried to do so several times, but their attempts were foiled.
“When you are a poor person, it is very hard to find your way to duty-bearers. But we are not at peace, you cannot be at peace if you can’t put food on the table,” he said.
When contacted, Minister of Labour Peter Dimba said he will meet the leaders of the association to hear them out.
On his part, Lilongwe Police Station spokesperson Hastings Chigalu said the police stopped the demonstration because protesters did not seek permission from the district council.
He said police intelligence also established that there were some intruders who wanted to take advantage of protests to cause havoc and loot shops.
“So, we used tear gas to disperse them. We were in a way sending a warning that they needed permission to demonstrate. We were also in a way telling them that we don’t intend to arrest anyone, so they should just stop what they had planned,” said Chigalu.
He said people that work in shops got heed of the message not to protest, but some hooligans started blocking roads and were demanding money from motorists while others were throwing stones at vehicles.
Chigalu said police arrested 15 people after receiving complaints from motorists about those blocking roads and throwing stones at vehicles.
“If you are exercising your right to demonstrate, you also have to respect the rights of others. Some of these people were not there to demonstrate, they wanted to replicate what happened in Blantyre where people looted shops. They tried to find a way to cause a commotion,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) president Charles Kumchenga has described the workers’ demands as genuine, saying the high cost of living has heavily affected low earners.
He urged the association to present the issue to MCTU so that it can be part of demands that the union making to government.
MCTU is pushing for minimum wage to be increased by 100 percent.
“We want the minimum wage increased, but that does not mean employers should limit the salary to minimum. They should be able to pay more,” said Kumchenga.
Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (Ecam) executive director George Khaki feared that effecting a salary adjustment of over 100 percent for shop workers will hurt businesses.
He said businesses are already struggling with inflation and the shortage of forex, adding most businesses are struggling.
Said Khaki: “If businesses have to increase salaries by 100 percent, they will have to pass that to the consumer, which will see prices of goods increasing and further worsening inflation.
“As employers we agree things are bad and need to revise wages, but it should not hurt the businesses.”
He has since called for dialogue on the matter so that parties reach an amicable solution.
In February 2024, the association objected to the minimum wage that government had effected.
Government had set K52 000 as minimum wage for domestic workers, up from K38 000 and K90 000 for those working in shops, up from K50 000.
However, the association asked government to factor in devaluations and the rise in cost of living to come up with a reasonable minimum wage.
