Around 300,000 civil servants in Malawi have given the government a 14-day ultimatum to increase their salaries by 44% due to the high cost of living. Otherwise they will go on national strike.

Among the main concerns, the employees are demanding an increase in public salaries of 44%, including transportation allowances of 100%, according to the local press.

In a joint statement, the Malawian Civil Servants' Union and the Malawian Teachers' Union say that the ultimatum is a response to the lack of recognition of their concerns by the Malawi Executive.

They regretted the fact that all peaceful means of avoiding the strike had been exhausted.

It should be noted that in August last year the employees had already demonstrated against the high cost of living, but they had not received a favorable response.

The Malawian government claims that the high cost of living is linked to the imbalance between the kwacha and the dollar.