VOA英语2010年-Malawi Workers Push for Early Retirement

A draft pension bill has created frustration¹ and sometimes even panic among workers in Malawi, with some seeking early retirement² before it passes. The bone of contention³ is a section setting the retirement age for women at 55 and men at 60.

Labor⁴ experts say the age requirement is far too high for a country like Malawi. The World Health Organization estimates the average life expectancy⁵ there at 50 years.

 

If passed, the bill would be Malawi's first legislation specifying⁶ a retirement age.

Until now, companies have made their own arrangements with their employees, who pay into a pension fund that they can access whenever they need to.

The proposed bill would formalize pension plans, making them mandatory⁷ and allowing employees to access them only after they have reached the legal retirement age.

According to the draft bill, workers could retire before the specified⁸ age only under special circumstances, including medically certified⁹ health problems or permanent emigration from Malawi.

The bill would prevent most people from being able to reap the benefits of their labor, says Luther Mambala, president of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU)

He says the draft bill has been modeled on the pension laws of developed countries, where life expectancy is high, and does not take into account the shorter life expectancy in Malawi:

"The number of years should be flexible. Even the retirement age should be reduced to 45 years, because we are looking at [a 50-year] life expectancy in Malawi. For you and me to reach the age mentioned in the pension bill is just for God's grace."

Some employees have already resigned and have begun collecting their pensions, fearing that if the bill is passed by parliament they will not see any of their money soon.

Among them is Gerald Gwaza, a 40-year-old engineer who has been contributing to his company's savings¹⁰ plan for nine years:

"To say the truth, I had no intention of resigning anytime soon. But (I) think my plans would be affected¹¹ if I waited for the bill to be passed before I collect my money. And also, waiting for another 20 years to collect my pension was too far. I thought I would first collect this one and start afresh."

The proposed bill would also hurt Malawians' ability to apply for loans. Employees can use their pension fund as security for a loan, but since the government announced the draft pension bill, banks have changed the rules.

Anne Magola, the corporate¹² affairs manager at the National Bank of Malawi, told a local newspaper, The Daily Times, that the bank is now asking the employer to confirm that the employee works for that organization. Furthermore, the bank is asking for direct deposit of the employee's salary so it can automatically deduct¹³ the monthly loan payment.

The proposed bill denies workers their rights, says Billy Banda, the executive director of the human rights organization, Malawi Watch.

Banda has urged Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika to speak up, saying he's the only one who can put the issue to rest:

"Your Excellency, the majority of members of parliament you have got was given on trust and don't allow them to abuse their mandate¹⁴ [by rushing into passing the pension bill]. The pension bill is a very clear challenge for all of us. We are asking you to reconsider not to allow this proposed bill, which is not good enough to the people to be passed into law."

There was no immediate¹⁵ comment from President Mutharika. But Malawi's political leaders say the proposed pension bill will ultimately benefit workers.

Labor Minister Yunus Mussa says it seeks to safeguard workers after retirement and make it possible for older people to continue enjoying life.

The union recently held awareness¹⁶ campaigns about the draft bill throughout the country. Since then, workers have been calling on the government to review the bill.

The pension draft bill has been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance for possible amendments¹⁷ before it is presented in the National Assembly.

The Congress of Trade Unions has threatened the government with strikes if workers' concerns are not taken into account.

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

6 specifying   

v.指定( specify的现在分词 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• When we describe what the action will affect, we are specifying the noun of the sentence. 当描述动作会影响到什么时，我们指定组成句子的名词。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Procurement section only lists opportunistic infection drugs without specifying which drugs. 采购部分只说明有治疗机会性感染的药物，但并没有说明是什么药物。 来自互联网

7 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

8 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

9 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

13 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

14 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

17 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。