Malawi Airlines Limited local staff have started their strike today over pay disparities.

These include cabin crew and others from marketing, finance departments. They are demanding salary restructuring, allegedly following a recommendation by a consultant.

Malawian Airline has meanwhile hired an Ethiopian-based cabin crew and they have already been given work permits by DCA to operate the flights.

Regional organizing secretary for Transporters and General Workers Union, MacDonald Chuma, confirmed that the strike has started today.

According to Chuma, they are also planning to get a court injunction later in the day against a decision by their management to use cabin crew from the Ethiopian Airlines to work in their place.

“We are going ahead with the strike until our grievances are heard, and what the management has done to hire cabin crew from outside Malawi is against the country’s laws,” he said.

Chuma added that hiring a cabin crew from Ethiopia is expensive than the company implementing the new salary structure the employees are demanding.