Malawi Government partners with Limbe Leaf, Alliance One in labour inspection

The Ministry of Labour and tobacco buying companies – Alliance One and Limbe Leaf – have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the area of labour inspection.

The agreement is a renewal of the cooperation that started with the signing of the first MoU in 2020.

Under the agreement, the two companies will be supporting District Labour Officers (DLO) with resources to carry out  inspections in the tobacco sector.

Speaking during the signing ceremony of the MOU on Tuesday in Lilongwe, Secretary for Labour, Wezi Kayira said labour inspection is a  core function of government through the Ministry.

“It is through inspections that we enforce our labour laws. Inspection involves visiting workplaces to check compliance with the law,” he said.

Adding that the first line of action is always to provide advisory services in order to promote cooperation and voluntary compliance as opposed to confrontation.

“I must confess here that despite the importance of labour inspections that I have just described,  we do not conduct as many as we would want due to resource constraints since any mobility has a cost implication,” Kayira said.

 He applauded Alliance One and Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company for their intervention with resources saying these resources are not adequate, though.

Kayira therefore called upon upon other private sector companies to come forward and partner with the Ministry to support the Government development agenda.

The MOU has been signed against the background of the abolition of tenancy labour by Parliament in 2021 in the form of an amendment to the Employment Act.

In her remarks, Alliance One Tobacco Corporate Affairs Manager, Fran Malila said despite having technicians on the ground, they wanted other players to do the inspection on labour in tobacco farms.

“Since we signed the cooperation agreement, there has been a great improvement,” she said.

While on her part, Limbe Leaf Tobacco Corporate Affairs Manager, Leah Hez said her company will continue to support issues related to labour practices.

Recently, the company donated 20 bicycles to the Ministry to help ease mobility challenges officers were facing in the districts.