A statement released on Wednesday, signed by ECAM President Buxon Kayuni and its Executive Director George Khaki and made available to MBC Online further said the employers body is in full support of some of the proposals in the Bill including “the removal of the right of an employer to pay a worker on strike, defining and gazetting of essential services and the abolition of tenancy labour.”
However, ECAM has expressed reservations on the removal of panelists at the IRC.
“Our position was already made known to Government. The use of panelists at the IRC is not the only reason that there are inordinate delays in disposing cases at the IRC. ECAM is of the view that there are other various options that could have been considered and implemented such as recruitment of full-time panelists, utilization of panelists on secondment amongst other options as other jurisdictions have adopted.
“It is our hope that since meetings of the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council (TLAC) to discuss the topical changes and other issues are convened regularly, the issue of engagement procedures and IRC panelists will be tabled as key Agenda items at an appropriate,” reads the statement in part.
The employers’ body said while it took part in the tripartite consultative meeting that took place on 5th of January 2018 at the Ministry of Labour Headquarters in Lilongwe, which among others resulted in numerous further consultations that led to changes in the draft amendment bills, it was expecting that it would be consulted for input into the final bill to be presented in parliament.
“[But] for the sake of progress, ECAM urges Government to proceed tabling the Bill in Parliament, minus the aspect of IRC panelists, without further delay. It is our hope that since meetings of the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council (TLAC) to discuss the topical changes and other issues are convened regularly, the issue of engagement procedures and IRC panelists will be tabled as key Agenda items at an appropriate time,” Said ECAM in the statement.
And in an interview with MBC, Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament Chairperson Peter Dimba also said that almost all stakeholders in the labour relations line such as Malawi Congress of Trade Union (MCTU) and the Employer’s Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) were consulted.
Dimba said, following input from various stakeholders, the proposed amendment has since attempted to reach a compromise by proving three days annually where by employees can withdraw labour without having their pay withdrawn.
Dimba further argued that, by its nature, the process of creating laws in Malawi was highly consultative.
Said Dimba: “When the Bill comes to Parliament, it would have already passed through a number of stages. The process of creating a law is highly consultative. The Bill dates back to 2017, and I have information that since 2017 there have been consultations with MCTU and ECAM and other stakeholders up until when Government thought the Bill should actually come to Parliament.”
