Many employers, employees ignorant about labour laws-Kamtukule

Malawi: Minister of Labour, Vara Kamtukule, has stated that her ministry has observed that many people in the country, particularly employers and employees, are unaware of the country's labour laws.

She made the remarks on Wednesday evening in Lilongwe during the launch of a human resource management book authored by Lilongwe-based Human Resource Management Specialist, Emanuel Innocent Chinovi, which, among other things, addressed issues concerning the country's labour laws.

According to Kamtukule, the majority of employees and employers in the country violate labour laws due to a lack of knowledge about labour laws.

She said: "Many people are unaware of labour laws, and as a result, there is a lot of exploitation, particularly among employees, but the law has already made provisions regarding their rights and responsibilities, as well as what they can expect from their employers.

"To some extent, you would also see employees making a lot of demands from their employers that are contrary to labour laws, and you would also see employers not giving their employees what they deserve, all of this happens among employers and employees because they lack knowledge about labour laws.”

As a result, she stated that there is a need for individuals and private labour organisations to assist the government in conducting more awareness campaigns to provide the public, including employees and employers, with information about labour laws.

Kamtukule also praised Chinovi for writing his book, stating that it would aid in the dissemination of human resource management and labour-related knowledge among the general public, including employees and employers.

Chinovi stated in his remarks that his book was published to assist in addressing various labour issues such as inconsistencies between labour acts, terms and conditions of service, and what organisations do in practice in contravention of appropriate human resource management.

He said: "You find employees who are not allowed to take maternity leave or who are not paid when they are sick, terminations without a disciplinary hearing, paying employees less than the minimum wage, no payment of compensation when an employee is injured, and no overtime.

"In addition, you will see employees working without protective clothing while working on jobs that are dangerous to one's life, working daily with no day off, the law says one thing but employers do another, so my book is aimed at addressing these issues."

According to him, the book is appropriate for Human Resource Managers, Line Managers, Employees, Board Members, and any employer because these are the people who are mostly at work and need to be well-versed in human resource management.

He also stated that he will establish book selling points in Blantyre and Lilongwe, but that the book's price will be announced later.

Employees and employers from various private and government organisations, including the Lilongwe Water Board, the Malawi Human Rights Commission, and the National Oil Company of Malawi, attended the book's launch (NOCMA).

The Daughters Band performed, there was a photo shoot, and the book was auctioned off.