Teachers in the country have threatened to hold national wide strike next month if the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration under President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika fails to pay them arrears by June 30.

This has been disclosed in a letter signed by Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) President Willie Malimba addressed to Secretary for Education, Science and Technology and the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government.

According to Malimba, the strike is slated for July 9 and it will involve primary schools, secondary schools and lecturers in Teacher Training Colleges across the country.

“The national wide strike is planned to start on July 9 2018 and shall be called off by TUM upon full payment of the arrears to all deserving teachers and lecturers in the public schools and colleges.

“Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) has done its part to ensure that issues of arrears should be sorted out without any industrial action but government has taken this for granted,” read in part the letter.

The letter further says that TUM has been engaging government in particular local government, Ministry of Education in meetings and they have been communicating through letters and phone calls but no tangible results are coming out.