Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Malawi

Convenio sobre el trabajo forzoso, 1930 (núm. 29) (Ratificación : 1999)
Protocolo de 2014 relativo al Convenio sobre el trabajo forzoso, 1930 (Ratificación : 2019)

The Committee takes note of the observations of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), received on 1 September 2025.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention and Article 2(a), (b), (c) and (f) of the Protocol. Tenancy system. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that with the introduction of section 4 of the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2021, prohibiting forced or tenancy labour, significant progress has been made in addressing forced labour in the tenancy system. The Committee notes that Malawi has validated the Alliance 8.7 Strategic Roadmap (2023–30), which offers a comprehensive framework for action and calls for the eradication of forced labour and modern slavery. The interventions planned in the framework of the Roadmap include specific actions to address forced tenancy labour, such as increasing inspections in the agriculture supply chain, ensuring promotion of livelihood programmes as an alternative to the tenancy labour system, and raising awareness of the abolition of the system with employers, workers and communities. The Government indicates that efforts to strengthen inspections have been made, with the labour inspectorate having expanded to 168 officers, many of whom have received training to detect violations related to forced labour and trafficking, and a total of 4,139 unannounced inspections carried out. The Government also indicates that the Ministry of Labour, with support from the ILO, is developing the Labour Market Information System (LMIS), which will improve systematic and disaggregated data collection on forced labour.

Furthermore, the Government indicates that statistics show progress regarding prosecutions in forced labour cases. In 2022, 81 cases were investigated, leading to 46 prosecutions and 24 convictions, and reflecting a conviction rate of 52 per cent. The Committee observes that the data does not specify how many of the cases of forced labour are related to the tenancy system. The Government indicates that challenges remain, such as limited disaggregated data, continued poverty, lack of access to land and the absence of regular employment opportunities, all of which continue to expose families and smallholder farmers to vulnerability.

In this regard, the Committee notes the observations of the MCTU that, although some awareness-raising efforts were undertaken with ILO support, little progress has been made in eliminating forced tenancy labour. According to the MCTU, ending tenancy labour requires stronger awareness initiatives, enhanced inspection capacity across all tobacco-growing regions, and efforts to address poverty as a root cause through universal social protection programmes and secure land tenure. The MCTU also notes that enforcement of the amended Employment Act to combat forced labour remains minimal.

The Committee also takes note of a 2024 ILO Survey on tenant growers in Malawi’s tobacco industry. According to this survey, almost three quarters of the 355,582 workers employed by the tobacco industry (74.4 per cent or 264,661 workers) operate under tenancy arrangements. The survey found that workers in the tenancy system are at a heightened risk of forced labour, particularly due to the significant lack of information provided to them at the time of recruitment. The survey results also highlighted the difficulties that tenant workers faced in exercising their rights to refuse work and leave their employer. Only 61.5 per cent of tenants could refuse to come back to their present employer despite the employer demanding their return, with a larger share of female tenants (80.5 per cent) than male tenants (47.1 per cent) reporting that they could refuse in this scenario. Further, only 36.8 per cent of tenants (35.5 per cent of males and 38.4 per cent of females) reported that they could leave their employer before the end of the current growing season, while a small fraction of tenants who had worked with the same employer for multiple growing seasons (0.1 per cent) reported that they had remained with the employer to pay off debts owed from the previous year.

While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee strongly encourages it to intensify its efforts and to continue taking effective measures to eliminate situations amounting to forced labour in the agricultural sector, particularly in the tobacco industry. In this regard, it requests the Government to:

• strengthen awareness-raising measures on the prohibition of forced tenancy labour and on workers’ rights, including the right to refuse work and to leave employment, targeting employers, workers and affected communities, in all tobacco-growing regions;
• continue strengthening the capacity and coverage of the labour inspectorate, ensuring effective inspections across the agricultural supply chain, and provide information on inspections conducted, violations identified, and corrective measures taken;
• ensure the effective implementation of section 4 of the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2021, including by investigating and prosecuting cases of forced labour linked to the tenancy system. Please provide updated data on investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and the penalties imposed;
• ensure that victims of forced labour are identified, protected, and granted access to appropriate remedies, including social protection and livelihood support measures, including to prevent their re-victimization; and
• improve the collection and analysis of data on forced labour, including through the development of the Labour Market Information System (LMIS).

Article 2(e) of the Protocol. Supporting due diligence to prevent and respond to the risks of forced or compulsory labour in the agricultural sector. The Committee previously took note of section 41 of the Tobacco Industry Act (No. 10 of 2019), according to which registered growers must provide a report to the Tobacco Commission containing information on growers’ undertakings on issues of forced labour, fair treatment and safe environment for their workers, with failure to do so being liable to the registration of the grower being cancelled. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it continues to take measures to prevent and address the risk of forced labour in the agricultural sector, but that it does not provide information on the implementation in practice of section 41 of the Tobacco Industry Act.

The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take measures to support due diligence by private entities to prevent and respond to the risk of forced labour in the agricultural sector. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of section 41 of the Tobacco Industry Act, including good practices reported.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.