By Robert Katuli

Lilongwe, May 31, Mana: Private recruitment agencies will no longer be involved in the recruitment of Malawian labourers expected to work in Israel, as Malawi Government will be the sole recruiter.

Minister of Labour, Agnes NyaLonje, disclosed this in Lilongwe on Friday during a press briefing to inform the public on the current status of the Israel Labour Export Programme.

NyaLonje said this follows a Government-to-Government Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on labour export Malawi Government and Government of the State of Israel signed on April 18 this year.

"Specifically, the MoU aims at promoting the protection of the labour rights, including safety, health and welfare of Malawian workers in Israel from recruitment, selection, and placement with specific employers upon arrival and throughout employment until returning to Malawi.

"These rights will be further protected because of the presence of a Malawi Embassy that has been established in Israel where a labour attaché has also been posted," she explained.

NyaLonje said private recruitment agencies were initially allowed to recruit Malawian workers for temporary employment in the agriculture sector in Israel between December 2023 and January 2024, which was the emergency recruitment period.

She added that, when the emergency recruitment window expired, the involvement of Malawian private recruitment agencies was also closed in compliance with the laws.

"Government has, however, noted that Malawian private recruitment agencies continued to recruit long after the deadline of 31st January 2024 set by Israel. This has led to some youths waiting to travel to Israel," said the Minister.

She indicated that once this new recruitment process is initiated, government will also consider the youths who were recruited by private agencies after the Israeli emergency recruitment window was closed.

NyaLonje further said there are three supplementary documents the two governments need to finalize before her ministry initiates the recruitment.

"A virtual meeting between Malawian and Israeli Technical Teams has been arranged for June 5, 2024 to finalize the above supplementary documents," she disclosed.

Among other things, in readiness to export labour to Israel, Ministry of Labour will from next week start orienting district labour officers, health workers, immigration officers and the police on the whole recruitment cycle and the role each will play.

Secretary for Labour, Chikondano Mussa, said labour migration expertise will be provided by the African Union during the exercise.

The MoU the two countries signed is built on mutual respect, cooperation and a shared commitment to foster socio-economic development and prosperity.

In the long run, Malawi is seeking to enter into a more rigorous bilateral agreement with Israel.