National News

Tikwere staff demand salary increment

Members of staff at Tikwere School Project in Blantyre are on a go-slow to press for salary adjustment.

One of the employees at Tikwere said on Wednesday the sit-in started on Monday because their employer did not respond to the 49 percent devaluation of the kwacha.

The source said their salaries are pegged to the US dollar rate; hence, they expected the organisation to immediately adjust the same to the new dollar rate to cushion them from shocks of the devaluation.

Said the source: “This never happened and we are heavily affected by the devaluation. In all fairness, this was supposed to happen automatically.”

When contacted for an interview on Tuesday, the project’s chief of party Dr Augustine Kamlongera said he was in Mangochi and did not have a picture of what was on the ground.

Kamlongera on Wednesday said he was not yet back in  office, adding there were officials on the ground to handle matters, if there was anything.

The Nation’s visit to Tikwere Ginnery Corner offices found the staff outside their offices with some playing games such as bawo.

The United States Agency for International Development (Usaid)-funded Tikwere Project does school radio programmes.

In a related development, United Nations (UN) employees in the country are also demanding that their salaries be pegged to the new dollar rate of about K250. The UN employees are paid in dollars.

 UN resident coordinator Richard Dictus on Tuesday urged the UN staff to be patient and wait for a decision from New York by Friday.

Related Articles

Back to top button