By Chisomo Phiri
Malawi’s main grain trader, Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (AMARC) has been dragged into court by its former employees for unfair dismissal.
The employees’ lawyer Chimwemwe Kalua, confirmed the development on Thursday saying the dismissed employees are therefore, demanding compensation from the company.
And ccording to a court document in circulation and seen by 247 Malawi, the employees claim that on August 31, 2022, the then Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe held a press briefing where he declared the closure of Admarc and that all employees will be sent on forced leave pending their retrenchment.
The employees also say Lowe made wild allegations that the employees were thieves, engaging in corruption and that they had looted Admarc.
“He stated that there was a need to restructure Admarc so that out of the 4000 employees only 1565 would remain to manage the affairs.
“Our clients state that a skeleton staff was recalled back to work but they do not know the criteria that was used in selecting them,” reads part of the court document.
Meanwhile, ADMRC officials are yet to comment on the matter.
