Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Malawi (Ratification: 1999)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Malawi (Ratification: 2019)

Previous comment

The Committee notes the Government’s first report concerning the application of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.

Articles 1(1), 2(1), and 25 of the Convention, and Article 2(a), (b), (c) and (f) of the Protocol. Effective abolition of the tenancy system. Over a number of years, the Committee has raised the issue of the existence of forced labour in tobacco plantations, in the form of debt bondage, based on a tenancy system (a practice in which a landowner grants access to land to a tenant and his family, who oblige themselves to pay back by producing crops for the landowner). In its latest comments, the Committee noted the Government’s recognition that the tenancy system constituted a gross violation of human rights and its intention to review the Employment Act to abolish this practice.

The Committee notes with interest that section 4 of the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2021, introduces a prohibition against the exaction or imposition of forced or tenancy labour. According to this provision, any person who exacts or imposes forced or tenancy labour on another person or causes or permits another person to perform forced or tenancy labour, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine and imprisonment for five years. For this purpose, tenancy labour is defined as “work or service performed by a person on a piece of land for the purpose of growing a crop where an employer pays remuneration to that person at the end of the growing season or after the sale of the crop” (section 4(3)).

The Government indicates in its report that it has commenced work on the implementation of section 4 of the Employment (Amendment) Act by conducting quantitative and qualitative surveys to collect information for the design of the interventions required. It further indicates that measures to prevent forced labour include economic empowerment programmes and social protection programmes for vulnerable groups, including cash transfers.

The Government also indicates that, while labour inspections may be conducted at any workplace, including in the informal economy, in practice, labour inspectors face difficulties in carrying out inspections due to limited human and financial resources. In order to strengthen the inspection services, the Ministry of Labour has concluded memoranda of understanding with some employers to intensify labour inspections and promote decent work in the tobacco sector.

The Committee also notes a study produced by the International Labour Office in 2021 that assesses employment and labour trends in the national tobacco sector, with a focus on the tenancy system according to which there is a broad consensus among stakeholders on the need to secure land tenure for tenant families as part of the policy response to abolish tenancy. There is also agreement that the design, implementation and monitoring of a timebound national policy road map for the abolition of tenancy will require intense and inclusive dialogue and coordination among all tobacco sector stakeholders, including growers and tenants. The Committee further notes that the Office has been implementing a project entitled Addressing decent work deficits and improving access to rights in Malawi’s tobacco sector.

Lastly, the Committee observes that in their joint statement made in December 2022, various United Nations experts indicate that, despite the abolition of the tenancy system, serious concerns persist in relation to risks of forced labour and that reported cases affect over 7,000 adults and 3,000 children. The statement further highlights that tobacco farms in Malawi are usually located in remote areas where access to assistance and protection against labour rights abuses is limited, and action to prevent trafficking in persons is weak (UN press release, 21 December 2022).

While taking due note of the adoption of legislative measures prohibiting forced labour practices under the tenancy system, which constitutes an important first step, the Committee considers that these measures need to be accompanied by further coordinated and systematic action for the effective elimination of situations amounting to forced labour in the agricultural sector, especially in tobacco plantations.

Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to continue to strengthen its efforts and take effective measures, in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to:

• raise awareness about the prohibition of forced labour under the tenancy system among the public as well as relevant stakeholders;
• reinforce the capacities of the labour inspection services in order to ensure that they can adequately perform their duties, including in remote areas, and provide information on the number and periodicity of visits carried out by labour inspectors as well as on the violations detected. The Committee refers in this regard to its comments under the labour inspection Conventions;
• carry out the necessary qualitative and quantitative studies to identify the root causes of forced labour in agriculture, particularly in tobacco plantations, and design interventions to address such causes, including in relation to access to productive land by small farmers, access to regular employment and the fight against poverty;
• protect victims of forced labour and ensure their access to remedies;
• investigate and prosecute cases of forced labour and provide information on the number of prosecutions initiated, convictions handed down and sanctions applied in accordance with section 4 of the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2021.

The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the progress made and the challenges faced in this regard.

Article 2(e) of the Protocol.Supporting due diligence to prevent and respond to the risks of forced or compulsory labour in the agricultural sector. The Committee notes with interest that according to section 41 of the Tobacco Industry Act (No. 10 of 2019), every registered grower shall, within a prescribed period, furnish a report to the Tobacco Commission (an entity established by the Act to regulate the production, growing, processing, importation, exportation and marketing of tobacco) containing information on growers’ undertakings on issues of forced labour, fair treatment and safe environment for their workers. If the registered grower fails to comply with this obligation, or if the information provided does not satisfy the Tobacco Commission, their registration as a grower can be cancelled.The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take measures to support due diligence by private entities to prevent and respond to the risk of forced labour in the agricultural sector. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of section 41 of the Tobacco Industry Act, including good practices reported.

The Committee is raising other issues in a request addressed directly to the Government.