Assistant district labour officer, Dorothy Chataika has expressed worry that some employers continue paying workers below a minimum of K50, 000 in the formal sector and up to K15, 000 per month to domestic workers.

Chataika told Zodiak Online on Monday that for instance, from January 2022 to this March, her office has recorded 810 labour related complaints with about 95 percent of 715 injuries registered in the tea industry.

Chataika has meanwhile, disclosed that almost all the recorded workplace injuries have been processed and referred to the Worker's Compensation Commission for the claims.

"Most cases that we are receiving concern payments of wages. Many employers are paying below the minimum wage and they are not able to pay their terminal benefits," she said.

Meanwhile, Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) Executive Director, George Khaki has attributed the challenges to tough economic environment of doing business induced by Covid-19 and current inflationary trends.

Khaki however believes that these issues are common in the informal sector where most employers are not aware of the labour laws.

"In the informal sector, most employers are not aware of what the laws and regulations are, regarding payment of minimum wage and such issues as gratuity and pension," he admitted.

To reverse the trend, Thyolo district labour office says they are conducting supervision in the workplaces while ECAM has embarked on the sensitization drive on labour laws.