Paper short abstract:

Job creation has been the focus of debate in the current public policies in Mozambique. The current Government Plan emphasizes the priority of creating jobs as a path to poverty reduction. Contradictory or not, the channel of creation of decent jobs that promotes people's well-being are neglected.

Paper long abstract:

Job creation has been the focus of debate in the current public policies in Mozambique. The Government's Five-Year Plan (PQG 2015-2019) and the Employment Policy, emphasizes the generation of employment, the creation of 1.5 million new jobs in 5 years, as path to poverty reduction. Although, there are questions about the employment created in the large agro-industries in Mozambique by workers, unions and companies.

Contradictory or not, the mechanisms of creation of decent and productive jobs that can actually promote the development of people, are not discussed in the current Government's Program. This seems crucial to investigate under the prevailing growth pattern in Mozambique (which is narrowed and focused on the production of primary commodities for export, with very low or no processing, and with weak productive linkages in the economy).

This research has interest and aims to shed light to the study of the relationship between the patterns of employment and the more general organisation of work under the current productive system as well as its implications for social conditions, livelihoods, and economic transformation.

The research followed a political economy approach and drawn upon on a triangulation between qualitative and quantitative information.

The research findings shows that the type of employment generated in the agro-industries in Mozambique reflects the prevailing mode organisation of production and of work, which the profitability of the companies is based on the payment of low wages and precarious working conditions, where different groups of workers are responsible for their own social reproduction.