New Mozambican Labor Law Has Taken Effect

Businesses operating in Mozambique and employing individuals there have likely encountered the longstanding Labor Law, Act 23/2007, of Aug. 1, which has been in operation since 2007. That act has finally been repealed and has been replaced by the new Labor Law, Act 13/2023, of Aug. 25 (“the new Labor Law”), which took effect on Feb. 21, 2024.

The new Labor Law is a welcome update to Mozambique’s employment law framework and is expressly intended to address the significant socioeconomic and technological changes that have occurred in Mozambique and transformed the workplace over the past 16 years. The act covers teleworking, temporary employment service arrangements, private employment agencies, paternal leave, and several other concepts that firmly place Mozambican labor law on a contemporary 21st-century footing.

Who Is Covered and Who Isn’t?

The act will regulate both individual and collective labor relationships which have been defined fairly widely to encompass all subordinate work that is provided to another person or entity for remuneration. Both Mozambican citizens and foreigners are covered by the new Labor Law, “in all fields of activity,” as long as the activity takes place within the borders of Mozambique.

Article 2 expressly provides that the act will also regulate, “with the necessary adaptations,” associations, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, the cooperative/aid sector with regard to salaried employees working in that sector, as well as diplomatic and consular missions where these hire local workers. These types of entities are quite prominent in Mozambique and should ensure that they are compliant with the new Labor Law.

However, “functionaries and agents of the State” (that is, civil servants) and employees of Mozambican state-owned entities, even those that have been decentralized or partially privatized, are expressly excluded from the scope of the new Labor Law.

Special Regimes

Certain types of workers will be governed by special sector-specific legislation and these include artists, professional sportsmen and women, domestic workers or those who work in the home, maritime and port workers, fishermen, rural workers, as well as the mining, petroleum and private security industries. All of these industries, as well as any other industry for which special legislation is enacted, will be subject to its own special legislation as well as the new Labor Law.

The same conceptual approach is applied towards certain types of contracts or contractual arrangements (that is, they will be regulated by special or specific legislation but the new Labor Law will also apply): these include retainer contracts, constructions contracts, intermittent and seasonal work contracts, freelance work, telework and those who render their services via private employment agencies.

Fundamental Principles

Article 5 sets out the most fundamental principles that infuse all of Mozambican labor law and that should always be borne in mind whenever interpreting or seeking to apply any provision of the new act. This is because, if there is a contradiction between any provisions of the act or with any other statute that regulates labor relations, the interpretation that best conforms, and gives expression, to these guiding principles should always be favored.

These fundamental principles are “the right to work” and the right not to be discriminated against, specifically based on color, race, sex, ethnic origin, place of birth, religion, social position and political option. This is a closed list of grounds and fails to mention other possible considerations for discrimination, such as pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation or language. The third fundamental principle is the right to have stability of employment and to maintain one’s position at the workplace. This right is obviously favorable toward employees and should be borne in mind whenever an employer contemplates dismissal or the amendment of an employee’s terms and conditions of employment. This right is arguably balanced by the fourth fundamental principle, which is the recognition that there is a need for “the change of circumstances” at the workplace (such as, for example, where an employer is required to effect redundancies or implement material changes to terms and conditions of employment, in order to remain competitive).

Article 6 expands upon what “the right to work” means in practice. This is the idea that all citizens (that is, it does not include foreigners) have the right to work in a job or profession that they have freely chosen, with equality of opportunities and without experiencing discrimination of any kind. Forced labor is, therefore, expressly prohibited, unless it takes place within the framework of penal legislation (that is, prison labor). Work must be conducted with strict respect to an employee’s rights and fundamental guarantees, and employers must protect the health of their employees and ensure that they work in safe and dignified working conditions.

All of the above fundamental principles are of utmost importance, as the culpable violation of these principles will render the underlying legal act to be null and void, but without prejudice to the civil and criminal liability of the offender.

Alex Ferreira is an executive with ENS in Johannesburg. © 2024 ENS. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.