The Mozambican government approved the proposal to revise the Labour Law, considering that it fails to address the country’s current state of development, Minister Vitória Diogo said.
“This [Labour] Law has been in force for more than ten years and there is an urgent need to adjust it to the current state of economic and social development,” the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security said in Maputo at the end of the 7th session of the Council of Ministers of Mozambique.
She explained that there was an “urgent need to align the national legal system” with international conventions such as the those on forced labour, health and safety in mines and child labour.
Another reason for the review is the emergence of new sectors and individual forms of work, such as teleworking, Minister Diogo said.
One of the innovations that the bill brings has to do with the extension of the post-maternity period.
“The working woman has long cried out” for “the period of maternity leave to be extended from 60 to 90 days,” she explained.
Another innovation indicates that a person may have multiple jobs simultaneously, and moral and sexual harassment enter the framework of disciplinary actions that will be sanctioned, the minister said.
“The amendments aim at a qualitative leap forward for a modern law aimed at developing and improving the business and working environment and promoting decent work,” Minister Diogo concluded.
The draft law is the culmination of a process which began in 2017 involving the government, social partners, employers and unions, and is expected to now go to parliament for discussion and approval.
Source: Lusa via Club of Mozambique
