The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) has expressed shock with reports that the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) intends to retrench 3122 employees as part of its restructuring exercise which is expected to be completed within three months.
On Monday, ADMARC board chairperson, Alexander Kusamba Dzonzi, disclosed about the retrenchment when the board appeared before the Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee of Parliament in Lilongwe.
But in his reaction, MCTU president, Charles Kumchenga, has described the move by ADMARC as unfortunate saying it’s a clear indication that government is contradicting itself on its campaign promises of creating one million jobs.
Kumchenga said: “We are not happy with this development as it will definitely affect the country’s workforce because retrenching more than 3000 people at once it’s a great loss and very unfortunate.”
He further said the Union will meet ADMARC management and government officials in order to discuss on the matter.
Concurring with Kumchenga, labour rights activist, Luther Mambala, expressed concern that Tonse government is trying to kill ADMARC and has therefore asked President Lazarus Chakwera to intervene by bringing together stakeholders and come up with a meaningful solution to challenges facing ADMARC without involving politics.
He further warned that retrenching such a large number of people will aggravate the already existing economic and security challenges in the country.
“The people who have been fired will need to find other means of supporting themselves and considering the current job industry, some of them will decide to indulge themselves in criminal activities just to get their daily needs, hence putting the country’s security at risk,” Mambala said.
He therefore asked authorities to learn from the neighboring Zambia where most government operations are running smoothly.
The decision to cut the workforce at ADMARC also follows the directive by Agriculture Minister, Lobin Lowe, to send all ADMARC employees on leave.
ADMARC board chairperson, Alexander Kusamba Dzonzi disclosed on Monday that the corporation needs K400 billion to finance what it calls its turnaround strategy.
