Elimination of Child Labour

The ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child labour (IPEC) is implementing the country programme to combat child labour in Malawi. The three year programme being implemented in eight districts begun in September 2005. It aims to contribute to the progressive elimination of child labour in Malawi. The programme interventions include withdrawing children from labour situations in agriculture and domestic services and providing them with educational opportunities as well as providing assistance to at risk children who are likely to drop out of school. It will also provide income generation activities for parents and guardians. The programme aims to create capacity in the NGO, governmental sectors and employers and workers organizations to deal with child labour issues and improve the policy and legislative environment in order address child labour issues in a sustainable manner.

HIV/AIDS

ILO has two projects on HIV/AIDS in the workplace.

The objective of ILO/USDOL HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Programme is to reduce HIV infection risk behaviour among targeted workers and reduce the level of employment-related discrimination against persons living with HIV and AIDS. The programme is supporting its tripartite constituents - government, employers and workers organizations to respond to HIV and AIDS appropriately in Malawi. The programme also assists pilot companies to develop and implement HIV and AIDS workplace policies and a behaviour change communication (BCC) programme. The goal is to prevent the transmission of HIV among workers, to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on workplace productivity and to assist enterprises to comply with the Malawian Law on the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS. This is a three-year project effective March 2006.

A new project began in August 2006 on HIV/AIDS in the transport sector. The project’s main objective is to prevent further infection of HIV/AIDS in the transport sector and support the affected and infected to mitigate the impact. The project is working through the ministries of Transport and Public Works, and Labour and Social Development. The target group for the first phase are employers and employees. The second phase will cater for families and the final phase will deal with cross border issues.

Improving Labour Systems

The Improving Labour Systems in Southern Africa (ILO/ILSSA) project, whose main goals are to increase compliance with the national labour laws and to improve labour-management relations, is being implemented in six southern African countries including Malawi. Specific objectives are to increase the knowledge among employers and workers of their rights, obligations and services under national labour laws through various means including revision of the labour law, ensure a more effective use of the labour administration/inspection system, and increase use of the dispute prevention and resolution system. To achieve these objectives, the project is working closely with government, employers’ and workers’ organisations.

For more information, visit www.ilo.org or contact
Miriam Gachago
Chief Technical Adviser
Email: gachagom@iloipecmw.org