Mozambique: Labour inspectors must not “harass” employers – Watch

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Mozambique: Labour inspectors must not “harass” employers – Watch

3:38 CAT | 30 Nov 2020

Photo: Dossiers & Factos

Mozambican Labour Minister Margarida Talapa on Friday instructed labour inspectors to act strictly in accordance with the law, and not to harass companies.

Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the Consultative Council of the General Inspectorate of Labour, Talapa recalled that, when she took office in 2019, President Filipe Nyusi said that inspections of workplaces must not degenerate into “witch hunts”.

“This message should lead us to reflect profoundly about our performance, and turn us into professionals committed to the cause of the nation”, said Talapa. “We should respect and make others respect the laws governing inspections, guaranteeing the trust of both employers and workers”.

The work of Chief Labour Inspectors in particular, she said, should be based on integrity, transparency and the defence of the higher interests of the State.

“As Chief Inspectors, you should set an example to others”, she declared. “You must always act firmly and rigorously, but always within the law. You should only take punitive measures when the seriousness of the offence makes didactic measures impossible”.

The participants at the meeting looked at such matters as the labour situation in Mozambique during the Covid-19 pandemic, the results of the diagnosis of the compensation system for work accidents and professional illnesses, and the regulations for hiring foreign workers.

Talapa said that this year there have been 6,750 inspections of business establishments, which is 80 per cent of the target figure of 8,450. The inspectors discovered 10,500 violations of labour regulations, of which 2,100 resulted in fines.

500 accidents in the workplace were registered in 185 companies, causing the incapacity of 495 workers.

But these are only the accidents that came to the knowledge of the Labour Ministry. “Unfortunately, these numbers are far from the real ones”, said Talapa. “We urge the employers to inform us when work accidents occur. The continued violation of norms challenges the inspectors to remain firm in the noble mission of preventing and repressing the wave of serious work accidents and professional illnesses, which have incalculable social and economic consequences”.