ZODIAK ONLINE
Sect. 5, P/Bag 312
Lilongwe, Malawi
The Industrial Relations Court in Lilongwe has issued an injunction stopping the Department of Human Resource Management and Development from proceeding with interviews for the posts of assistant human resource management officers, grade K.
This comes as a group of 144 civil servants led by Aggrey Luwe expressed dissatisfaction with a plan by the department to include workers who have served a minimum of four years in the promotion interviews.
The court has emphasized that the interviews should not proceed pending hearing.
"It is ordered that the interviews for the post of Assistant Human Resource Management Officer (Grade K) scheduled to take place on 30 June 2025 should not proceed and the Respondent is stopped from conducting the said interviews pending hearing of the action determining whether the Respondent is not in violation of section 5(1) of the Employment Act in the manner of its treatment of the Applicants as Human Resource Management Officers in respect of promotions in the Civil service," reads the court order.
Chimwemwe Kalua, lawyer for the complainants, says this follows several engagements between his clients and the authorities on the issue of promotion.
He claims some of the civil servants have served their grade M positions for a long time, despite others upgrading their qualifications, but without promotion.
Kalua says the government has not fulfilled their earlier agreement with his clients, hence the move.
"In 2024, my clients engaged the department and it pledged to consider them in the promotions but now to the surprise of my clients that the recruitments are including those who have served a minimum of four years than thoser who have served over that, and others up to twenty years," said Kalua.
"We wrote them to stop the recruitment process but there was no response," he added.
Spokesperson for the Department of Human Resources Management and Development, Ken Mtonga, says they are adhering to the court order and await a directive from the Attorney General (AG).
"We are obeying the court order, it is a competent court. As you are aware, we rely on the AG for guidance, we are waiting on him," said Mtonga.
Ministry of Justice Spokesperson, Frank Namangale, in a written response, says the Attorney General is attending to the matter.
"Yes, I can confirm on both, the AG is attending to the matter," noted Namangale.