Today the minister of Labour, Hon. Vera Kamtukule, had a meeting with the Tea Association of Malawi to discuss issues of Child Labour, Gender equality and compensation claims in the tea value chain.In her remarks, the Minister encouraged the Association to go beyond the norm and explore value addition to spur industry growth. In their statement the association emphasized their zero tolerance to child Labour and has put in place structures to curb the malpractice. The tea sector has established, sensitization activities with commercial and smallholder stakeholders, & a robust M&E framework to measure and assess, monitor and address the anti-child Labour efforts. On gender related issues, the association stated it’s aspirations towards achieving equal gender representation within the value chain. Hon Vera Kamtukule highlighted that it is important for the association to involve more women in top management. The Hon. Minister acknowledged that unscrupulous compensation claims is a big problem that needs addressing. She further advised that the association makes sure that they follow all necessary Occupational Safety and Health regulations to avoid facing unlawful claims. Furthermore Government through ministry of Labour has established the workers compensation fund to cushion the industry against exorbitant claims.
Vera Kamtukule
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