LABOUR RELATIONS
The principal means of addressing industrial action is the tripartite negotiations which bring together management, trade unions and the government to resolve disputes. Non-citizen employees enjoy favourable working conditions such as reasonably high salaries, fringe benefits including company house, car, free education for children, a medical scheme and local holidays. Wage rates in semi-skilled and unskilled categories of labour are guided by minimum wage rates for rural, city and municipal areas. Trade unions are not a strong force in Malawi with less than 10 percent of the workforce belonging to a labour movement.
The labour force is heavily biased towards the agricultural sector although this is gradually changing as multinationals such as Carlsberg, Lever Brothers, Lonrho and Cargill have launched and expanded manufacturing operations. The workforce is relatively productive and labour rates are lower than those in most other African nations.