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Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention, 1951 (No. 99) - Malawi (Ratification: 1965)

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Replies received to the issues raised in a direct request which do not give rise to further comments (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, which answers the points raised in its previous direct request and has no further matters to raise in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments initially made in 2015.

Repetition

Article 3 of Conventions Nos 26 and 99. Minimum wage fixing machinery – Consultation of the social partners. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that consultations on the review of the minimum wage are made with the Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) and the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), which are respectively the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Government also indicates that, in 2012, the social partners expressed a strong desire to adopt a sector-based minimum wage fixing arrangement and that the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council was responsible for carrying out periodic wage surveys for both sectoral and general minimum wage fixing processes. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any change that may be introduced in the minimum wage fixing machinery and on any wage surveys undertaken by the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council.

Article 4 of Conventions Nos 26 and 99. Measures to ensure the application of the minimum wage. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the recommendations of the ILO technical assistance mission in 2006 concerning the labour inspection system still remain to be implemented due to the phased implementation of the functional review of the Ministry of Labour, and that further technical assistance had been sought from the ILO in light of the developments since 2006. The Committee also notes that an improved labour administration system is one of the outcomes under country priority III identified in the Malawi Decent Work Country Programme (2011–16). As regards the specific issue of the enforcement of the minimum wage, the Committee notes that section 55(2) of Employment Act No. 6 of 2000 provides that any employer who pays wages below the minimum wage shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of MWK50,000 and to imprisonment for ten years. It further notes the information provided by the Government, in its reports under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), that inspections are carried out in various establishments, both industrial and commercial, including agricultural undertakings and that the issues targeted include wages. Hoping that the Government will soon be in a position to report progress towards a strengthened and more effective inspection system, the Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the results of the activities of the labour inspectorate concerning the application of the minimum wage.

Informal economy. The Committee noted in its 2014 General Survey, Minimum wage systems, paragraph 402, that one of the greatest challenges lies in ensuring compliance with minimum wage provisions in the informal economy. On this issue, it wishes to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 18 of the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), which provides that through the transition to the formal economy, Members should progressively extend, in law and practice, to all workers in the informal economy, … a minimum wage that takes into account the needs of workers and considers relevant factors including, but not limited to, the cost of living and the general level of wages in their country. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the national law and practice in relation to minimum wage in the informal economy, including on the activity of the labour inspectorate in this context.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Article 3 of Conventions Nos 26 and 99. Minimum wage fixing machinery – Consultation of the social partners. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that consultations on the review of the minimum wage are made with the Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) and the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), which are respectively the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Government also indicates that, in 2012, the social partners expressed a strong desire to adopt a sector-based minimum wage fixing arrangement and that the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council was responsible for carrying out periodic wage surveys for both sectoral and general minimum wage fixing processes. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any change that may be introduced in the minimum wage fixing machinery and on any wage surveys undertaken by the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council.

Article 4 of Conventions Nos 26 and 99. Measures to ensure the application of the minimum wage. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the recommendations of the ILO technical assistance mission in 2006 concerning the labour inspection system still remain to be implemented due to the phased implementation of the functional review of the Ministry of Labour, and that further technical assistance had been sought from the ILO in light of the developments since 2006. The Committee also notes that an improved labour administration system is one of the outcomes under country priority III identified in the Malawi Decent Work Country Programme (2011–16). As regards the specific issue of the enforcement of the minimum wage, the Committee notes that section 55(2) of Employment Act No. 6 of 2000 provides that any employer who pays wages below the minimum wage shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of MWK50,000 and to imprisonment for ten years. It further notes the information provided by the Government, in its reports under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), that inspections are carried out in various establishments, both industrial and commercial, including agricultural undertakings and that the issues targeted include wages. Hoping that the Government will soon be in a position to report progress towards a strengthened and more effective inspection system, the Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the results of the activities of the labour inspectorate concerning the application of the minimum wage.

Informal economy. The Committee noted in its 2014 General Survey, Minimum wage systems, paragraph 402, that one of the greatest challenges lies in ensuring compliance with minimum wage provisions in the informal economy. On this issue, it wishes to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 18 of the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), which provides that through the transition to the formal economy, Members should progressively extend, in law and practice, to all workers in the informal economy, … a minimum wage that takes into account the needs of workers and considers relevant factors including, but not limited to, the cost of living and the general level of wages in their country. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the national law and practice in relation to minimum wage in the informal economy, including on the activity of the labour inspectorate in this context.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage-fixing machinery – Consultation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee requests the Government to refer to the comments made under Articles 1 and 3 of the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

The Committee requests the Government to refer to the comments made under Convention No. 26.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request under Convention No. 26.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request under Convention No. 26.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

See under Convention No. 26.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

See under Convention No. 26, as follows:

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government's report concerning the two-tier system of statutory minimum wages and conditions of employment for application in the various sectors of the economy.

The Committee also notes the Government's intention to provide information on the approximate number of workers (tradesmen) covered by the minimum wages when it has been collected and compiled. It hopes that this data will be supplied in the Government's next report, together with other information on the application of the Convention in practice, as required by Article 5 of the Convention and point V of the report form, for example: (i) the minimum wage rates in force; and (ii) the results of inspections carried out (for example, the number of violations of minimum wage provisions, the penalties imposed, etc.).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following matters raised in its previous direct request:

With reference to the comments it is making as regards Convention No. 26, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the application of the minimum wage-fixing machinery in agriculture, including the minimum rates of wages fixed and the occupations and approximate numbers of workers covered (Article 5 of the Convention and point V of the report form).