The employees now clad in PPEs
* Labour Minister Mumba approved its reinstatement following an assessment of the facilities by an inspection team he led
* Which comprised Malawi Congress Trade Union, Employers Consultative Association of Malawi Human Rights Defenders Coalition, Labour Commissioner, among others
By Yewo Munthali, MANA
The Ministry of Labour has reopened Top Max Malata, a company among many in Lilongwe that succumbed to closure on January 16, 2025, for failure to comply to the Malawian labour laws.
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Minister of Labour, Vitumbiko Mumba ordered the closure of Top Max Malata and the other companies and he has since approved its reinstatement following an assessment of the facilities by an inspection team he led.
It comprised Malawi Congress Trade Union (MCTU) president Charles Kumchenga, Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) Council member, Lameck Tchaka, Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) chairperson, Gift Trapence and the Labour Commissioner, among others.
The inspection team led by Minister Mumba
After the inspection, Minister Mumba commended TopMax for conceding to most of the demands and showing initiative to work on the rest to ensure the welfare of the company’s employees.
“I am happy the managing director acknowledged that their business only focused on profits and not their employees’ welfare,” he told the media. “We have seen a lot of improvement as evident in the employees wearing personal protective equipment (PPEs) and an improvement in the kitchen such as plates and a proper eating area.
“However, there are still several issues that need to be addressed such as provision of masks to protect the workers from dust and the need for the company to move from using firewood to environmentally friendly energy sources as well as the completion of permanent their toilet facilities.”
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Top Max Malata was found in violation of the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act by subjecting its employees to poor working conditions such as lack of PPEs, toilet facilities for temporal workers as well as serving their workers food on sacks.
It was the first company to be reopened since the Minister’s quest for quality working conditions in the country and has since been given seven days to rectify all the ministry’s requirements.
The Minister further highlighted the need for the workers to form a workers union as well as Top Max Malata to join and subscribe to the laws and regulations of the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi.
“We as a Ministry work in what is known as the Tripartite Council with employers under ECAM and employees under the Malawi Congress of Trade Union and the decision by Top Max to join these institutions is exactly what we need moving forward,” he said.
Echoing the Minister’s sentiments, MCTU president Charles Kumchenga said it was important that all workers rights are respected and not violated: “We have seen how workers are poorly treated in many companies and as such we have agreed with Top Max to set up a union.
“As MCTU, we will be here to set up the union as well as monitor whether or not the rules of the union are respected,” assured Kumchenga
In response to the recommendations and requests from the inspectors, Top Max Malata human resource manager, Chifuniro Banda said the company has taken, and will continue to take, necessary measures to ensure the proper welfare of its employees.
“The closure of our company was eye opening and showed us where we were lacking and as such, we had to take action and change so that such problems do not persist,” he said. “These problems were there due to negligence and our drive to profits alone and not our employees’ wellbeing.”
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