The hiring of foreign labour in Mozambique will be subject to new quotas with the introduction of innovations in the regulations governing the matter, the Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM) reported on Monday, August 19.
According to the agency, among the innovations, the highlight goes to the quotas that are established according to the new classification of companies, which has been increased from three to four criteria. These are the micro-enterprises introduced for the first time in the labour regime, whose quota for hiring foreign labour is up to 15%. Small, medium and large companies can hire up to 10 per cent, 8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
According to AIM, the 2007 Labour Law made no provision for micro-enterprises, and for small, medium and large companies the quota was 8%, 10% and 5% respectively. The normative instrument adjusts the new labour law, already in force in the country, since these matters still lacked regulation.
This was made known in Maputo by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MITSS), Baltazar Egídio, at the second extraordinary plenary session of the Labour Consultative Council (CCT). ‘This regulation accommodates the classification of companies established in the Labour Law,’ he said.
For his part, the president of the labour department at the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA), Paulino Cossa, pointed out that the regulation brought changes aimed at regulating the obligations of workers and employers. ‘The Labour Law has brought many changes that mean the regulation has to specify how to proceed,’ he said.
For his part, André Mandlate, a representative of the OTM-CS (Organisation of Workers of Mozambique – Trade Union Centre), said that there is a lot of foreign labour in the country performing tasks that could be done by Mozambicans. ‘We need to bring in a qualified workforce and not one that comes to learn from Mozambicans,’ he warned.
The event also discussed the proposed regulation of private agencies in the country and the fees for mediation, reconciliation and labour arbitration.
