Business

Enact HR regulation to curb labour law violations—IPMM

The Institute of People Management Malawi (IPMM) has attributed the rising cases of unfair labour practices as exposed by the Minister of Labour Vitumbiko Mumba’s inspections to lack of a Human Resources (HR) Act which could regulates the sector.

Last week, Mumba closed a number of companies for violating labour laws including low wages and salaries, failure to provide personal protective equipment and safety gear and worker exploitation, among others.

Some labourers work without protective clothing. | Nation

Mumba emphasized that the government will not condone lawlessness in labour issues and has since called on companies to ensure that workplaces are conducive for everyone and that workers’ rights are respected.

In a statement, IPMM president Frank Sabola noted that such practices not only jeopardize the health, safety and dignity of workers but also hinder organizational productivity and tarnishes the country’s image as a fair labour market.

He has, however, recommended dealing with the issues proactively by scaling up inspections and fast-tracking the enactment of the regulation that would mandate HR practitioners’ affiliation and easily regulate the profession.

Sabola said: “The establishment of a regulatory framework for HR Practitioners is critical to enhancing professionalism and accountability, ensuring that HR practices align with local and international labour standards.”

According to Sabola, some of the labour malpractices occurred under the watch of some HR practitioners because the absence of legislation mandating practitioners’ affiliation hinders accountability and professionalism in the field.

“To address this, IPMM is collaborating with the government to enact legislation that regulates the HR profession in the country. We are confident that once enacted, the legislation will help in curbing labour malpractices and elevate the standards,” he said.

In a separate interview, Malawi Congress of Trade Unions president Charles Kumchenga described the HR regulation as critical saying it would help authorities to be acting according to the law.

“Those issues which have made the minister to close companies are to do with HR and some might think it’s inhumane to close offices without perhaps warnings and so forth.

“But with the availability of the act, even the workers will be in a position to know their rights which have been infringed. Companies will also be in a position to know the penalties,” Kumchenga said.

When asked where the HR bill at the moment, ministry of labour spokesperson Nellie Kanyemba indicated that the law is at the Office of President and Cabinet specifically the Department of human resource management and development.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence called the ministry to ensure that such inspections continue and actions are taken on those that do not comply with labour laws.

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