Malawian workers decry poor working conditions in UAE

Some Malawian migrants working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are regretting taking up jobs in the oil rich Middle East country due to poor working conditions, Weekend Nation has learnt.

Meanwhile, government says it plans to cancel all labour export deals with the UAE until concerns about the working conditions are addressed.

Two workers we have spoken to, one of whom was a beneficiary of the labour export deal between the Government of Malawi and the UAE, said the migrants are housed in dormitories and paid less than what was stipulated in their contracts.

Maggie Kamwendo, who left Malawi in February this year and works for a catering company, told Weekend Nation in a telephone interview that she works long hours, “but gets peanuts.”

“Accommodation is another big challenge as we are confined in one room as if we are at a boarding school.

“I am asking government, through our embassy, to look into the matter, otherwise we are just working for the benefit of our employers and this country,” she said.

Another Malawian, Benon Mwale, corroborated the complaints in a telephone interview that most migrant workers have no decent homes such that on average, six workers share a room.

“Like other migrant workers, Malawian youths survive on junk food as they are not allowed to cook in the rooms and, worse still, are paid little money to afford proper meals,” he said.

Mwale, who has lived in UAE for the past 15 years, also claimed that most of the youth get 200 Dirham, an equivalent of K20 000 per month, when the basic monthly living cost for a single person in the UAE is 600 Dirham, approximately K68 000, according to an internet site www.casualexpat.com.

Chairperson of a grouping of Malawians living in the UAE Dr Frank Malola acknowledged the challenges facing the Malawi migrant workers in that country.

He has since advised Lilongwe to investigate the matter and quickly come up with a solution.

Malola also advised job agencies recruiting people to work in foreign countries to negotiate good employment deals for their clients.

Human rights lawyer Habiba Osman, who said the issue borders on labour exploitation, also called on government to resolve the matter urgently.

“The action of sending migrant workers to the UAE was in the first place not circumspect by the previous regime of Joyce Banda. The terms of reference were not widely shared and civil society was not consulted; especially, those working around migration/trafficking issues.

“This borders on labour exploitation if the rumours of exploitation are verified. It is important that the new Mutharika administration, through the Ministry of Labour, follows up this issue as soon as possible! We do not want a situation where we will be receiving news of tragedy or extreme exploitation that will leave these migrants vulnerable,” she said.

Minister of Labour Henry Mussa told Weekend Nation on Thursday that government is planning to cancel all the agreements to export more labour to the UAE until the whole programme is reviewed.

According to the minister, there are no formal agreements between government and recruitment agencies exporting labour to the UAE.

“We have reports that some individuals or agencies are recruiting people without formal agreements. There was just a memorandum of understanding between the People’s Party-led government and some agents that are recruiting people, especially the youth,” said the minister.

He said government is currently liaising with Malawian ambassador to Kuwait to discuss the matter with employers in the UAE, failing which Lilongwe will bring back home the Malawian workers.

Former president Joyce Banda and her People’s Party (PP) introduced the labour export initiative arguing, at the time, that it would go a long way in reducing unemployment among youths in the country.

A 2013 Amnesty International report revealed that most Malawians working in Arab countries as taxi drivers and cleaners are at the risk of being abused and exploited.