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Wednesday 01 Jul 2015 - 15:34 Makkah mean time-14-9-1436
Ms Diogo (Google image)
Maputo (IINA) – Mozambican Labor Minister Vitoria Diogo warned that the government will not tolerate repeated and serious violations of the country's labor laws, particularly in the recruitment of foreign workers and on the issue of workplace safety, news agencies reported.
Ms Diogo issued this warning here Monday, when she opened a seminar on "Portuguese investment and labor questions in Mozambique", organized by her ministry in coordination with the Portuguese Embassy to familiarize Portuguese businesses operating in Mozambique about the legal mechanisms for the hiring of expatriates.
The independent Mediafax news-sheet quoted the minister on Tuesday as saying that in the first three months of this year, 112 foreign workers of various nationalities, including several Portuguese, were suspended because they had been hired illegally. Also in the first quarter, 176 accidents, caused by failure to observe safety regulations at work, had been reported.
"We are urging the private sector in general and Portuguese companies in particular to operate with scrupulous respect for the labor legislation, especially with regard to the hiring of foreign labor," Diogo said.
She recognized that Mozambique faced a shortage of skilled workers in various areas, but said this should not be used as an excuse by companies to hire foreign workers for areas where Mozambicans are available.
The government could not continue to tolerate breaches of the law, she said, adding that so far, its approach had been "educational", making companies aware of the rules for hiring foreign labor.
In future, however, the government could shift to punitive measures, imposing fines on companies that break the law, and expelling the foreign workers involved.
For his part, Portuguese Ambassador to Mozambique Jose Augusto Duarte said it was in the interest of Portuguese employers "to be exemplary in the application of Mozambican labor laws", just as it was in Mozambique's interest "to continue to rely on the invaluable contribution that the Portuguese are making to job creation, professional training and economic development".
AB/IINA
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