Information by Minister Moses Kunkuyu, says the Malawian government has confirmed that Israel deported 12 Malawian workers for abandoning their assigned farms.
These workers possessed valid visas for farm employment but violated their contracts by working at a bakery, as stated in the minister’s statement.
The 12 Malawians were part of a larger group of over 40 foreign workers apprehended at a bakery in Tel Aviv the previous week.
Mr. Kunkuyu emphasized the illegality, under Israeli law, of foreign workers changing jobs without adhering to the proper procedures.
He cautioned all Malawian migrant workers in Israel “to desist from such behaviour as it puts this country into disrepute”.
“Such behaviour may also reduce employment opportunities of the individuals concerned,” he said.
Last year, hundreds of Malawians journeyed to Israel to address a labor shortage on Israeli farms, following the departure of thousands of workers at the onset of the Israel-Gaza conflict in October.
This migration was facilitated by a labor export agreement signed between the two nations in 2022.
Recently, some Malawians residing in Israel informed the BBC that low wages prompted them to abandon their farm jobs in search of alternative employment opportunities within the country.