Labour Minister Vitumbiko Mumba on Thursday made a surprise visit to Central Poultry (CP) Feeds at Kanengo in Lilongwe where employees are said to be subjected to degrading working conditions.
According to the Minister, among other things, he has established that the employees are working without masks in dusty rooms and machine operators are working without wearing protective gear including gloves, safety boots and helmets.
Some workers are operating while barefoot, while others are wearing either sandals or slippers.
According to some workers, while they receive poor salaries, they work for at least 11 hours a day.
Meals are also prepared in a kitchen that is not properly taken care of and is full of flies.The workers further said the institution, which has over 650 workers, does not have enough toilets. Workers are forced to queue to access toilets while others just end up relieving themselves outside the premises.
(Report by The Nation)
