Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Malawi (Ratification: 1965)

Articles 1 and 3(2) of the Convention. Minimum wage-fixing machinery – Consultation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes that the national minimum wage rate is now fixed at MWK317 (approximately US$1) per day, or MWK8,259 (approximately US$24.6) per month, for both rural and urban areas. The Committee also notes the Government’s indications that consultations on the review of the minimum wage are made with the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) and the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), which are respectively the most representative employers’ and workers’ organization. The Government further indicates that at the last minimum wage review meeting which took place in April 2012, the social partners expressed a strong desire for a sector-based minimum wage fixing, and as a result the Government is now considering the establishment of minimum wage rates by sector. Noting the Government’s statement that the tripartite Labour Advisory Council is responsible for carrying out periodic wage surveys for both sectoral and general minimum wage fixing processes, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the institutionalization of the consultative framework for the determination and periodical review of minimum wages. The Committee also requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the revision process of the Employment Act – to which reference was made in previous reports – in so far as this process might have an impact on the application of the Convention.

Furthermore, the Committee understands that the current minimum wage rate is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for workers and their families. It notes, in particular, the comments of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food made in July 2013 according to which the current level of the minimum wage, i.e. MWK317 per day, is absurd considering that an average household requires MWK1,900 per day only for food. According to the same statement, the requirements to cover the food basket for an average household is above MWK58,000 (approximately US$173) per month which underscores the need to adjust the national minimum wage in accordance with the requirements of Articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Committee notes, in this connection, that under section 54(3) of the Employment Act, when revising minimum wages consideration must be given, among other factors, to the needs of workers and their families, the general level of wages, the cost of living, social security benefits and the relative living standards of other social groups. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the elements listed in section 54(3) of the Employment Act are sufficiently taken into account in the process of readjusting minimum wage levels.