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Angola - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Luanda

CLIMATE

The north is cool in the dry season (May through to October) and hot in the rainy season (November through April). In the South and along the coast, the climate is semiarid.

LANGUAGES

Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages.

LEGAL SYSTEM

Based on the Portuguese civil and customary law systems. Recently modified to include political pluralism and the more frequent use of free markets.

CURRENCY

Angolan New Kwanza (1 USD = 31.5686 AON as of April 15, 2002)

ANGOLA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

ANGOLA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Luanda

Rua Houari Boumedienne

No. 32

Caixa Postal 6484

Luanda, Angola

Telephone: [244] (2) 445-481

Fax: [244] (2) 446-924

http://www.usembassy.state.gov/angola/

Embassy of Angola at Washington D.C.

2100 16th Street, NW

Washington D.C. 20009

Telephone: (202) 785-1156

Fax: (202) 785-1258

E-mail: angola@angola.org

http://www.angola.org/

ANGOLA - HOLIDAYS

• New Year’s Day

• Inicio de Luta Armada (February 4)

• International Women’s Day (March 8)

• Worker’s Day/Labor Day (May 1)

• Children’s Day (June 1)

• National Hero’s Day (September 17)

• Independence Day (November 11)

• Family Day/Christmas (December 25)

ANGOLA - LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 90 days – 100% of pay (paid by employer).

ANGOLA - MINIMUM AGE

The legal minimum age for employment is 14 years. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 may not work at night, in dangerous conditions, or in occupations requiring great physical effort, and children under 16 years of age are prohibited from factory work; however, these provisions generally are not enforced.

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Angola – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

ANGOLA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

Angola’s minimum wage (as of October 2001) is approximately $300 per month.

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Angola – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

ANGOLA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

ANGOLA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. Department of State)

Section 6.

a. The Right of Association

The Constitution provides for the right to form and join trade unions, engage in union activities, and strike; however, the Government does not respect these rights consistently in practice. The Government dominates the National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA), which is the labor movement affiliated with the ruling MPLA party; however, there are two independent unions, the General Center of Independent and Free Labor Unions of Angola (CGSILA) and the small Independent Union of Maritime and Related Workers (SIMA). The CGSILA has a membership of approximately 50,000 members, and UNTA claims to have more than 400,000 members. There are tensions between the two organizations. There were reports that members of the CGSILA were fired from their jobs for recruiting UNTA members to join the CGSILA. The law requires that labor unions be recognized by the Government. Restrictions on civil liberties potentially prevent any labor activities not approved by the Government and constitute an obstacle to trade union activities which the Government considers against its interests; however, the major impediment to labor's ability to advocate on behalf of workers is the 60 percent formal sector unemployment rate.

The Constitution provides for the right to strike. Legislation passed in 1991 provides the legal framework for, and strictly regulates that right. The law prohibits lockouts and worker occupation of places of employment and provides protection for nonstriking workers. It prohibits strikes by armed forces and police personnel, prison workers, and fire fighters. The law does not prohibit employer retribution against strikers effectively. The law permits the Government to force workers back to work for breaches of worker discipline and participation in strikes.

SIMA strikes continued during the year, and there were spot strikes elsewhere in the country.

In January UNTA led general strikes by public employees to demand an increase in the minimum wage (see Section 6.e.). In June the Government agreed to increase the monthly public sector minimum wage from approximately $15 (400 kwanzas) to approximately $50 (1,500 kwanzas).

In May workers in Uige province held a protest march against high living costs and late salary payments.

Teachers and nurses continued to engage in wildcat strikes during the year.

In December 2000, UNTA organized a 3-day strike demanding an increase in the minimum wage. The CGSILA refused to cooperate and openly criticized UNTA for coopting CGSILA's long-standing support for a minimum wage increase, but demanding half of the amount that the CGSILA had advocated.

Unions have the right to affiliate internationally. The CGSILA cooperates with the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and participates in the International Labor Organization (ILO). Individual trade unions maintain relations with counterpart unions in other countries.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The Constitution provides for the right to organize and for collective bargaining; however, the Government does not respect these rights in practice. The Government does not facilitate a positive environment for constructive labor management negotiations. The Government dominates the economy through state-run enterprises. The Ministry of Public Administration, Employment, and Social Security sets wages and benefits on an annual basis. Legislation prohibits discrimination against union members and calls for worker complaints to be adjudicated in regular civil courts. Under the law, employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination are required to reinstate workers who have been fired for union activities. In practice neither the Labor Code nor the judicial system are capable of defending these rights, and the Government has been unwilling to enforce them.

There are no export processing zones.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced labor; however, it also permits the Government to force public sector workers back to work for breaches of worker discipline and participation in strikes. There were reports that the army forcibly conscripted persons (see Section 1.f.).

The law prohibits forced and bonded child labor, and there are no reports that such labor occurs in government-held areas; however, the Government does not have the capacity to enforce this legislation in nongovernment-held areas (see Section 6.d.).

UNITA forces regularly abducted children for military service and other forms of forced labor (see Sections 1.b., 1.f., and 5). UNITA depended on forced labor for much of its logistical support. Refugees and IDP's reported that rural women frequently were forced to work as porters for UNITA military units and kept in life-threatening conditions of servitude. There continued to be some reports of sexual assault of abductees during the year.

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

The legal minimum age for employment is 14 years. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 may not work at night, in dangerous conditions, or in occupations requiring great physical effort, and children under 16 years of age are prohibited from factory work; however, these provisions generally are not enforced. The Inspector General of the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment, and Social Security is responsible for enforcing labor laws. Although child labor law enforcement is under the jurisdiction of the courts, in practice, the court system does not provide adequate protection for children. Child labor violations were punishable with fines and restitution. There is no formal procedure for inspections and investigations into child labor abuses outside of the family law system, although private persons can file claims for violations of child labor laws. The Ministry maintains employment centers where prospective employees register, and the center screens out applicants under the age of 14; however, many younger children work on family farms, as domestic servants, and in the informal sector as street vendors. Family-based child labor in subsistence agriculture is common. Children under 12 years of age work for no reimbursement for their families and in apprenticeships. Poverty and social upheavals have brought large numbers of orphaned and abandoned children, as well as runaways, into unregulated urban employment in the informal sector.

The Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor during the year.

The law prohibits forced and bonded child labor; however, the Government is unable to enforce these provisions, and children were regularly abducted by UNITA forces for forced labor (see Sections 6.c. and 6.f.).

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The minimum wage set by the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment, and Social Security was approximately $30 (600 kwanzas) per month for the first half of the year; however, the Government does not enforce this standard. The majority of urban workers earn less than $10 (200 kwanzas) per month. Most workers hold second jobs, engage in subsistence agriculture, rely on aid from relatives, or engage in corruption to supplement their incomes. Neither the minimum wage nor the average monthly salary, which are estimated at $20 (400 kwanzas) to $200 (4,000 kwanzas) per month, are sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. As a result, most wage earners depend on the informal sector, subsistence agriculture, corruption, or support from abroad to augment their incomes. CGSILA continued to demand a minimum wage increase and better working conditions during the year. The Government took no measures to rectify the national system of setting the minimum wage during the year; however, during the year, the Government established a working group to examine the minimum wage issue, and in June the Government agreed to raise the public sector minimum wage to approximately $50 per month (see Section 6.a.).

Employees receiving less then the legal minimum wage have the right to seek legal recourse; however, it is uncommon for workers to do so.

On January 7, oil workers seized a foreign-owned oil rig to demand payment of severance packages. The workers took 50 foreign workers hostage but released them on January 10; they then flew to Luanda, where they were arrested but subsequently released within 72 hours.

A 1994 government decree established a 37-hour workweek; however, the Ministry of Public Administration was unable to enforce this standard, just as it was unable to enforce existing occupational safety and health standards. Workers cannot remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their continued employment.

Foreign workers (legal or illegal) are not protected under the labor law. They receive legal protection if they work under contract, otherwise they receive protection only against criminal acts.

f. Trafficking in Persons

The Constitution prohibits human bondage, although no legislation exists to enforce this position. There are reports that Angolans are trafficked to the United Kingdom for labor exploitation and that women are trafficked to South Africa. There also continued to be allegations that UNITA abducted persons, including children, for forced labor and military service, and abducted women for use as sex slaves. There were credible reports that UNITA forcibly recruited children into its military.

ANGOLA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

There is no standard workweek. A 1994 government decree established a 37-hour workweek; however, the Ministry of Public Administration was unable to enforce this standard.

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Angola – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)