MALAWI WORKERS TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST G4S

Private security workers who work for G4S, the largest multi-national employer on the African continent, have taken legal action against G4S by filing a lawsuit alleging non-payment of overtime wages since 2003.

The lawsuit against G4S was filed on Wednesday December 19th, in the Malawi capital, Lilongwe.

Twenty-four (24) private security workers employed by G4S have submitted statements of claim concerning the non-payment of overtime by of the company. Guards are required to work 12-hour shifts each day, which amounts to 4 hours of overtime above the standard 8 hours, for 6 days a week. The company's own conditions of service for its employees provide for overtime at a rate of 150% after 8 hours of work, but the company pays overtime at 50% of the ordinary wage rate. Guards working for G4S in Malawi earn about €24 per month.

The lawsuit was filed at the Industrial Relations Court in Lilongwe, with a pre-hearing scheduled to take place in approximately. Alan Chinula, widely regarded as Malawi’s leading legal practitioner, will be representing the case in court.

The case builds on UNI-sponsored research earlier this year in Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa, which uncovered serious and ongoing violations of labour laws concerning overtime and time off on behalf of the company, and is supported by the African Workers' Rights Now legal fund. A successful outcome could lead to the improvement of working conditions for over 10,000 G4S workers in Malawi.