Pressure mounts for Israeli jobs
Desperate youths seeking job opportunities in Israel under the labour export deal have petitioned Malawi Government to expedite the government to government labour export deal and facilitate their recruitment.
On Friday, a group of concerned applicants for the Israel jobs presented a petition to the Ministry of Labour at Capital Hill in Lilongwe, citing delays in finalising the agreement, among other concerns.
The petitioners said they felt that the Malawi Government was delaying to seal the government to government arrangement that could bring sanity to the recruitment process.
Reads the petition in part: “We have documents like medical reports which are bound to expire soon. And we have observed that there is no information regarding this labour export deal. We hope you will understand our concerns and provide us with answers as soon as possible.”
The petition The Nation has seen represents over 4 000 jobseekers and was copied to the Office of the President and Cabinet, the Speaker of Parliament and ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs, among other stakeholders.
The petitioners warn that if they do not get a response within three days, they will hold vigils at Capital Hill in Lilongwe.
Ministry of Labour public relations officer Nellie Kapatuka asked for more time before commenting on the matter.
But one of the representatives of the applicants who delivered the petition, Gift Pindani, said the immediate response from labour commissioner Hlalerwayo Kelvin Nyangulu was that there was still no government to government deal in place with no specific date as to when it would be finalised.
He quoted him as having stated that it was the government’s wish to prioritise those ready with travel documents. The commissioner, however, pointed out that if the war in Gaza continues, then the emergency recruitment process will continue and private agencies will resume their work.
Pindani further quoted Nyangulu as having indicated that the government to government deal was proposed on the premise that the Israel-Hamas war would be over by now.
“About medical documents, Mr Nyangulu said if one’s medical report expired, either they would use the old report or would be required process a fresh report,” he said.
During a fact-finding visit to Israel, parliamentary committee chairpersons decried delays in the signing of a government to government labour export agreement between Malawi and Israel, saying it is hampering opportunities for eligible Malawians.
Led by Public Appointments Committee chairperson Joyce Chitsulo, the chairpersons on February 20 2024 summoned the task force on labour export to Israel for an update on the agreement which is yet to be signed.
But in his presentation to the committee, Nyangulu said a bilateral labour agreement takes time to finalise because it has to be a legally binding document.
He said in the interim, Malawi can sign a memorandum of understanding while processing the bilateral labour agreement.
Israel has offered Malawi up to 100 000 jobs across various sectors with the first 10 000 workers expected within a month from February this year.
Meanwhile, the Israel labour export deal has been suspended until the bilateral labour agreement is signed. But Israel Minister of Economy Nir Barakt recently told The Nation that the labour exports to that country will continue.
