Malawi, also known as the Warm Heart of Africa, is a country full of opportunities not only for its citizens but also foreign nationals who for decades have been establishing their businesses here.

However, despite the fact that foreign owned companies are creating jobs for locals, they are also a burden to some citizens as they face abuse and many other challenges while working in some of these companies.

In this special report, Eamon Piringu, brings to light the plight of Malawian workers in some of the companies owned by foreign nationals, where many are underpaid, forced to overwork and physically abused. 

April 14th 2024 will remain an unforgettable day to 47-year-old-man Siraj Maliwa of Sadulo Village in Chikwawa district.

On this day, Maliwa went about his job normally at one of the Chinese-owned companies, Sino Hydro, in the district where he worked as Payload Operator not knowing that it would be his last day at work.

He says as the day progressed, one of his Chinese bosses saw some individuals passing around the company premises carrying jerry cans and he suspected that they were targeting to steal fuel at the company.

Somehow, the boss accused him of conniving with the people to steal the fuel.

“I was then taken to a hall where I was welcomed by 15 Chinese bosses who were armed with steel bars. They beat me up mercilessly. They dragged me to a vehicle then dumped me at a nearby bush. I was rescued by members of the community. I thought I would die,” narrated Maliwa.

He spent three weeks at Chikwawa District hospital before being discharged.

A year on after the incident, Maliwa says his life has changed. He still feels unbearable pain in his ribs and knee. He is financially unstable as he cannot work for long.

“I am struggling to survive. I feel so much pain on my knees, ribs and waist. I can not stand or work for long due to the pain. I’m surviving on temporary pieceworks and my family is in financial shumbles,” he added.

Police only arrested two of the alleged 15 Chinese nationals, Allen Cheng, 37, and Peng Yongqia, 35.

The two were fined K500 000 each by a Magistrate Court in the district, after the employers admitted that beating and suspecting Maliwa of stealing was actually a case of mistaken identity.

Dickson Matemba is Chikwawa Police Spokesperson. He says police acted on the information it sourced.

“We received information that the victim had been assaulted, we arrived at the place where he was dumped and took him to Chikwawa District Hospital. He is the one who told us that two of his bosses were involved in his assault, we arrested the two and took them to court. The rest was handled by the court,” noted Matemba.

In Lilongwe, some Malawian workers at one of the popular poultry companies tell stories that are more shocking.

Workers here are forced to work in a very cold room without safety gear.

Grace Chatha, not her real name, says they are even physically abused.

“Most of our bosses here are foreigners, yes Zimbabweans. They abuse us unimaginably. We work in this cold room known as the Blast which reaches negative 350 Degrees Celsius for hours starting from 8 O'clock in the morning and knock off at around 12 O'clock midnight. The office does not provide us transport, we are usually attacked and raped by a group of thugs known as 11 Bongos. We need help,” revealed Chatha.

These people work from 5 O’clock in the morning to 12 O’clock midnight without any transport provision and face deductions even when sick.

Those working on a temporary basis known as ‘Aganyu’ receive less than K4,800.00 working from 5 am to 12 midnight.

The workers here expressed fear of their jobs.

“We face numerous challenges at this company, we have no option but to work in these conditions. Some of us as temporary workers, we work for close to 18 hours daily only to receive K4,800.00.”

“Any silly mistake leads to our firing, we fear giving you information. We may be expelled,” a crowd of workers lamented to us.

Minister of Labour, Peter Dimba is unhappy with ill treatment of Malawian workers.  

“This is unacceptable. These workers are being exposed to very extreme conditions, handling very cold chicken using bare hands. That’s hazardous. The flows are watery and slippery all over, no proper hygiene and sanitation at this company. This is where we get our chicken from. We also found out that there are so many unfair labour practices here,” said Dimba.

Workers in some Tea Estates have not been spared with the abuses and exposed to poor working conditions; some receive less than K2, 000.00 per day, working without proper sanitary facilities and use of unsafe water.

This is just a tip of an iceberg as many Malawian workers are suffering in silence in the hands of their foreign bosses mostly from China and India.

In February, the country witnessed demonstrations by shop and domestic workers in Lilongwe in demand for a pay rise and good working conditions.

Many do not know the existence of a public holiday.

To a labour expert, Robert Mkwezalamba, most Malawian workers are being subjected to such abuse due to high levels of unemployment in the country as there is shortage of options, lack of inspections and poor enforcement of labour related laws by the Ministry of labour.

He says corruption is also a burden for Malawian workers to be protected.

“Foreign nationals have not been given a translated version of the country’s labour laws. Issues of corruption clock in because the moment the foreign nationals palm oil the labour officers and security agencies, the workers’ voice does not carry weight. Working in environments that are below negative 350 degrees Celsius, that is harmful, these people once they leave that work place they do not last for a year,” said Mkwezalamba.

Malawi’s labour sector is guided by several regulations including the Labour Relations Act, The Employment Act, Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act that all target to promote the welfare of Malawian workers.

The labor protection frameworks cover fundamental principles such as ensuring equal pay, protecting against discrimination, and prohibiting forced labor, as well as addressing working hours, wages, workplace safety, and employee benefits. 

Stakeholders say most Malawian workers do not know these laws due to lack of awareness.

Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) Executive Director, George Khakhi says even indigenous company owners abuse their fellow citizens working for them.

He suggests empowerment of the Ministry of Labour to inspect and provide civic education to workers and employers on the country’s labour laws.

“The Ministry of Labour needs to be empowered to conduct inspections and enforcement of labour laws where they are not being applied. Workers also need to be educated on their rights,” said Khakhi.

Minister of Labour, Peter Dimba acknowledges the existence of serious abuse of worker’s rights in foreign owned companies, warning to deal with perpetrators.

He says his ministry is working on developing a toll free number where workers will be reporting their concerns.

“We have discovered that there is so much abuse of workers’ rights, especially those working for foreigners. These employers are violating labour laws of the land.  Among the measures, we are working on establishing a toll free number where workers will be reporting their grievances. In some cases, some claim it might be a lack of awareness of labor laws, which in law ignorance is not defense,” said Dimba.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) Vice Chairperson, Michael Kaiyatsa says this is a serious violation of human rights that needs to be dealt with accordingly.

He blames some labour officers for frustrating efforts to safeguards the rights of the local citizens.

“These problems are coming because our systems are not functional, for example the labour offices do not have the capacity to be visiting companies, hence poor application of the labour laws by owners, depriving most of our citizens in the process. We have seen companies that have been sanctioned for abusing their workers and failing to apply the country’s labour law resuming their operations in a short period and you start to wonder what has happened,” said Kaiyatsa.

For a long time, stakeholders, including the government, have turned a blind eye to the plight of thousands of Malawian Workers being abused while working for foreigners, who are making millions of profits at the expense of the locals.

It’s now time to act and improve the welfare of Malawians working for foreign nationals more especially now that the country is working hard to achieve its development blueprint the Malawi 2063, which is promoting financial inclusion with an aim of turning the country into a wealthy, self-reliant and industrialized nation.