Malawi, Israel sign labor export deal on farm workers

Blantyre, Malawi — Malawi and Israel have signed a new deal for Malawi to send unskilled laborers to Israel.

The agreement is a departure from a previous arrangement where nearly 1,000 laborers were sent to work in Israel through private labor agents. Malawi officials say the new deal will help address challenges workers were facing under the previous arrangement. 

The memorandum of understanding comes a month after Malawi’s parliament allowed the government to proceed with its program to send laborers to work on farms and industries in Israel. 

Currently, Malawi is expected to send about 3,000 unskilled laborers to work on various agriculture farms. Most of the workers will replace Palestinians who no longer work in Israel because of tensions sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas.  

Malawian government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu was part of a delegation that traveled to Israel to sign the deal. During a televised press conference in Lilongwe, Kunkuyu said the deal puts into place regulations regarding workers’ rights. 

“We want to see that the citizens benefit, their rights are not trampled upon and that each party of the agreement … sticks to the provision of the agreements,” Kunkuyu said. “It is very easy to depart from this arrangement when there is no bigger force involved. So, the government is involved and even the challenges that these young people did raise when we visited them will not be there.” 

Kunkuyu said some of the laborers in Israel told the delegation that some agents were not honoring terms and conditions in the contracts they signed. 

Nearly 1,000 laborers were recently sent to work in Israel through labor agents.

Kunkuyu, however, said besides farm laborers, some Israeli employers have expressed plans to come to Malawi to recruit skilled laborers in the construction industry, like builders, carpenters, welders and tile workers.

The lawmakers in Malawi had earlier proposed that a recruitment exercise be done through their constituencies, saying this would provide an opportunity for those living in rural areas. Currently, most recruitment takes place in urban centers.

Malawi’s foreign affairs minister, Nancy Tembo, led the delegation to Israel. She said the labor ministry will be responsible for recruitment of those willing to work in Israel. 

“The Ministry of Labor will have to develop a plan and make sure that they understand the agreements, they are properly briefed, they know what is expected of them when they get to Israel. So, this is what the Ministry of Labor is working on at the moment,” Tembo said. 

Malawi’s government began promoting work in Israel in November, with the goal of generating more foreign exchange revenue.

Malawi’s finance minister, Simplex Chithyola Banda, said in February that $735,000 had already been transferred to Malawi through the labor export arrangement with Israel.

Authorities say the next group of laborers is expected to leave for Israel in three weeks.