MALAWI -
Shop and domestic workers in Malawi's capital city Lilongwe on Tuesday, May 7, agreed to call off their two day strike after their employers agreed to raise the minimum wage to K18,600 per month with government also promising that it will adjust upward the current minimum wage which is at K317 per month.
The Lilongwe workers and their employers who most of them are shop owners and include Malawians of Asian origin, Nigerians, Chinese, Lebanese and Burundi also agreed to improve working conditions.
Most of the workers were said to be getting less than K10,000, were not entitled to an annual leave, women had no maternity leave and also were working in poor health and safety conditions.
After the negotiations Malawi's Minister of Labour Eunice Makangala admitted that the current government stipulated minimum wage was the major problem in setting wages for shop and domestic workers in the country.