Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Malawi (Ratification: 1965)

Articles 1(1)(a) and 2 of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the Government’s reported measures to combat sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment in the tea and macadamia sectors. These include the Tea Association of Malawi’s revised gender equality, anti-harassment and non-discrimination policy (May 2024); new training tools and programmes (training-of-trainers in April 2024; specialized training for 748 managers and supervisors in April 2025; and policy-implementation training for 498 participants in mid-2024); and strengthened estate-level grievance mechanisms, with gender focal points/committees and assess and address committees, alongside plans for a centralized mechanism supported by a confidential short code (4359). Annual awareness-raising efforts also continue during the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, with designated gender champions. In the macadamia sector, examples include Gala Macadamia’s handbook, a Human Resource manual clause on sexual harassment, and its disciplinary code. The Committee further notes broader legal and policy reforms: (1) ongoing reviews of the Employment Act 2000, the Labour Relations Act 1997 and the 2012 Order on Hazardous Child Labour to integrate Convention No. 190; (2) the launch of a National Code of Conduct on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work on 1 May 2025; (3) intensified labour inspections (4,193 inspections; 168 inspectors); (4) Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) activities, including awareness-raising, training and 62 investigations leading to a 4 November 2024 hearing, with a report expected in September 2025; and (5) the Employers Consultative Council of Malawi’s initiatives, including a gender audit, CEO/board engagement and a model workplace policy launched on 6 December 2024. The Committee welcomes this information. It observes that only three sexual harassment or violence complaints have been registered at Ministry headquarters since May 2025, and district-level data are not disaggregated by type, limiting evidence-based policymaking. It also lacks information on the functioning and use of enterprise or industry grievance systems, the reach of employer policies across estates and macadamia enterprises, and the availability of civil or administrative remedies in addition to criminal prosecution. The Committee therefore requests the Government to: (i) provide consolidated, sex- and sector-disaggregated statistics on sexual harassment cases identified by labour inspection, the MHRC, the courts and enterprise/industry mechanisms (including the short code when operational), indicating complaints, investigations and outcomes; (ii) submit the referenced MHRC investigation report (and follow-up) and the results of the sector study for tea and macadamia, explaining how findings guide enforcement and prevention; (iii) indicate the status and timelines of the labour law review and specify provisions adopted or proposed to align with the Convention; and (iv) report on the coverage and effectiveness of training and workplace policies.

Evaluation of the legal framework on sexual harassment and alignment with the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s steps to align national legislation with the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), following the 2023 Tripartite Labour Advisory Committee (TLAC) recommendation to ratify it. A legal gap analysis has been endorsed by the Government and social partners; section 16(1) of the Gender Equality Act (GEA) is under review to broaden the definition of sexual harassment to include hostile work environment and strengthen survivor-centred justice; and labour law amendments under the EU Zantchito project envisage inserting a definition of sexual harassment in the Employment Act consistent with Convention No. 190. The Committee also notes progress toward a Public Service Workplace Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy, intended to establish a comprehensive framework for public institutions. While welcoming these initiatives, the Committee wishes to underscore that further alignment with the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), is still needed. In particular, adding a definition of sexual harassment to the Employment Act must complement – rather than replace – revisions to section 16(1) of the GEA to explicitly include hostile-environment harassment alongside quid pro quo sexual harassment (i.e. blackmail), and to reconsider the “reasonableness” test to avoid unduly limiting protection. The Committee therefore calls on the Government to report on: (i) the substance and progress of the planned reviews of the GEA and Employment Act, and follow-up to the gap-analysis findings; (ii) the implementation and results of the National Road Map to Promote Workers’ Rights and Gender Equality; and (iii) the status and content of reviews of the National Gender Policy, the National Action Plan to Combat Gender-Based Violence, the GEA Implementation and Monitoring Plan, and the Public Service Workplace Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy and Guidelines.

Tripartite discussion on the issue of sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning tripartite discussion on the issue of sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, which addresses its previous request.

Access to judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms and legal remedies for victims of discrimination, including sexual harassment. The Committee notes that victims of sexual harassment in employment and occupation can seek redress through labour offices, the Industrial Relations Court, ordinary courts and civil society, and that labour officers assist with claims and refer cases to the Police. It also notes the Government’s acknowledgement that treating sexual harassment solely as a criminal offence limits the roles of the Ministry of Labour as well as of the Industrial Relations Court, and that court fees hinder access to justice, which has prompted a planned review of the Employment Act. The Committee further notes the Government’s statement that: (1) 68 labour officers were trained on the revised inspection form with an enhanced focus on gender; (2) May 2025 was instituted as Labour Rights Awareness Month with 145 visits, and that tips received led to investigations in three workplaces, two concluded and one ongoing; (3) the Malawi Human Rights Commission recorded 9 sexual harassment cases in 2023, 82 in 2024 of which 60 from the tea sector with 2 closed and 60 referred to the Women Lawyers Association of Malawi for litigation, other 20 were from various sectors and 15 were investigated and closed while 5 are still under investigation; and (4) in 2025, it received and investigated 6 reports on sexual harassment. The Government further reports that it held an investigative hearing for 4 institutions and handled additional gender-based violence and sexual harassment cases and that a private employer in the macadamia sector dismissed 5 staff members following internal processes. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) describe measures ensuring affordable and timely civil and administrative remedies; (ii) clarify the Employment Act review and guidance for labour officers; (iii) report on procedures addressing evidentiary barriers, confidentiality and retaliation; (iv) provide consolidated, disaggregated statistics on cases, remedies, sanctions and processing times; (v) state the outcomes of the workplace investigations initiated in May 2025; and (vi) report on the results of the cases referred to the Women Lawyers Association of Malawi and on coordination among oversight bodies to ensure survivor-centred redress.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.