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RECENT LABOUR LAW REFORMS IN MALAWI: A REVIEW

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2017

CLEMENT NG'ONG'OLA
Affiliation:
Department of Law, University of Botswana

Abstract

After the political and constitutional transformation of Malawi between 1992 and 1995, numerous laws and various aspects of the legal system have been undergoing review to fit the new constitutional order. As expected, some of the legislative activity has focused on employment and labour relations. The law on these issues has ossified for almost the entire three decades of independence and Dr. Banda's single-party rule. Labour-related issues were also very prominent during the transition from single-party to multi-party rule. Multitudes of unemployed or under-employed people, and workers clamouring for improved wages, filled the ranks of campaigners and agitators for political change. The trade union movement also provided some of the erstwhile leaders of the political campaigns. The end-result is that Malawi has a revised Constitution with prominent provisions on labour issues, and a set of new labour law statutes. This article describes and assesses reforms introduced under two of the main statutes, the Labour Relations Act 1996 and the Employment Act 2000, in the light of the dictates and characteristic features of the 1995 Constitution. The article is a sequel to a review and assessment of the law carried out prior to these reforms.

Type
Regular Article
Copyright
2002 School of Oriental and African Studies

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