New Malawi Labour Migration Rules Raise Concerns
The draft regulations follow past failures to monitor labor migration in Malawi. But implementing the new rules could prove complicated amid concerns from unions and private agencies.
SALIMA, Malawi- New regulations aimed at governing labor migration from Malawi have sparked concerns from trade unions and private recruitment agencies over their implementation, writes Martin Kamlaike.
The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) appealed to the government Wednesday to consider over 4,000 youths who had already paid significant fees to private agencies to secure farm work in Israel.
MCTU representative Robert Mkwezalamba said the youths borrowed money for passports, medical checks and other documentation while waiting for approval under a labor deal Malawi recently signed with Israel.
"People borrowed money to seek for money for passports, they borrowed to go for medical checks...they borrowed money to process other documentation," Mkwezalamba said at a validation meeting for the new Employment (Labor Migration) Regulations in Salima.
However, Labour Secretary Chikondano Mussa confirmed the new agreement with Israel aims for a transparent, government-led recruitment process.
She refuted claims authorities want to control migration, saying they are simply starting to regulate an unregulated sector.
The new rules require private recruitment agencies to register with the government, maintain minimum capital reserves, have physical office space and human resources expertise.
Violations can result in penalties or imprisonment.
The International Organization for Migration's Jeremiah Joshua welcomed the "overdue" regulations to prevent exploitation, saying Malawi has already begun sending labor forces abroad.
But the president of the Private Employment Agencies Association, Trevor Kandoje, raised concerns about potential "intense competition" between agencies and the government under the new government-to-government agreements.
The draft regulations follow past failures to monitor labor migration in Malawi. But implementing the new rules could prove complicated amid concerns from unions and private agencies.