Hundreds of workers have marched in the Malawi capital, Lilongwe, against a bill which seeks to set the country’s retirement age between 50 and 75.
If passed, it would be compulsory for workers to have a pension fund – a first in the country.
But unions say the fund would not benefit Malawians, who have an average life expectancy of less than 40.
The proposed bill will be brought before a committee in parliament for a decision.
Some 300 hundred workers marched to parliament to hand over a petition demanding changes to the current bill.
The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) wants the number of years of employment at a company used as the measure of when workers can access their pension money instead of age.
“We are saying they should introduce a service in the bill, if someone has been working for a company for 20 years they should be able to access their pension,” the union’s general-secretary Robert Mkwezalamba told the BBC’s Network Africa.
But Labour Minister Yunus Mussa says the pension package is mainly aimed at instilling a culture of saving among Malawians.
“Right now people work for years and they only get a token of appreciation – a radio, a blanket or bicycle. We are saying people should contribute to that so that when they retire they do not suffer.”
Mr Mussa dismissed the union’s claims that no one would benefit from the scheme.
“It will be a law and everybody should comply… those people who do not comply will face heavy penalties.”
“There are people in Malawi older than 50, 70. They are still productive citizens of the country,” he said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.