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Brunei - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Bandar Seri Begawan

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; hot, humid, and rainy.

 

LANGUAGES

Malay (official), English, and Chinese.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Brunei’s legal system is based on English common law. For Muslims, Islamic Shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas.

 

CURRENCY

Bruneian Dollar (1 USD = 1.83580 BND as of April 15, 2002).

 

BRUNEI - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

BRUNEI - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Bandar Seri Begawan

Third Floor - Teck Guan Plaza

Jalan Sultan AMEMB Box B

APO AP 96440

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Telephone: [673] (2) 229-670

Fax: [673] (2) 225-293

 

Embassy of Brunei Darussalam at Washington D.C.

3520 International Court, NW

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 237-1838

Fax: (202) 885-0560

Email: info@bruneiembassy.org

http://bruneiembassy.org/

 

BRUNEI - HOLIDAYS

 

BRUNEI - MINIMUM AGE

Various laws prohibit the employment of children below the age of 16. Parental consent and approval by the Labor Commission is required for those below the age of 18. Female minors under age 18 may not work at night or on offshore oil platforms.

 

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

 

BRUNEI - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

There is no minimum wage.

 

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

 

BRUNEI - REMUNERATION

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

 

BRUNEI - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

Trade unions are legal but must be registered with the Government. The Government has not prevented the legal registration of trade unions, nor has it dissolved any. While unions are legal and easy to register, conditions are not conducive to the development of trade unions. There is little interest on the part of workers in forming trade unions, and existing unions are not very active. There are few industries of the kind in which unions traditionally have developed. In addition, cultural tradition favors consensus over confrontation. The three registered trade unions are all in the oil sector and have a total membership amounting to less than 5 percent of that industry's work force. All workers, including civil servants other than those serving in the military and police, may form or join trade unions. Unions are independent of the Government.

 

The law permits the formation of trade union federations but forbids affiliation with international labor organizations. An individual contract is required between an employer and each employee, but legal trade union activities may not be deemed to violate employee contracts. In the past, some local legal experts interpreted this provision as conferring the right to strike. However, under the law, strikes are illegal. During the year, foreign workers at various garment factories in the country carried out work stoppages to protest poor working and living conditions, as well as payroll deductions.

 

Brunei is not a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Government did not interfere with lawful union activity during the year. It is illegal to refuse employment or discriminate against an employee on the basis of membership or nonmembership in a trade union. The law is silent on collective bargaining, and it occurs in only a few industries. Wage and benefit packages are based on market conditions and tend to be generous.

 

There is a free trade zone in Muara Port, known as the Muara Export Zone (MEZ).

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there are no reports that such practices occurred.

 

There were reports of domestic bondage under which foreign domestic workers work extremely long hours and are not permitted rest days. Their passports allegedly are held by employers to prevent their departure; there are as well anecdotal reports of such workers not being paid. Employment agents in Brunei and other countries reportedly bring some workers to the country under false pretenses of well-paying jobs as teachers or shop assistants, only to later force them to accept jobs as laborers. Other workers, most notably in the garment industry, often are obliged to sign new employment contracts upon their arrival in the country that reduces their promised salaries through substantial monthly payments to their employment sponsors or agents. Living and working conditions for these persons generally are poor.

 

There were reports of Indonesians being trafficked to Brunei.

 

The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and there were no reports that such practices occur.

 

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

 

Various laws prohibit the employment of children below the age of 16. Parental consent and approval by the Labor Commission is required for those below the age of 18. Female minors under age 18 may not work at night or on offshore oil platforms. The Department of Labor (DOL), which is a part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, effectively enforces laws on the employment of children. There were no reports of violations of the child labor laws. The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and such practices are not known to occur.

 

The Government adheres to the standards of ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

Due to the ongoing economic downturn, unemployment has grown in recent years. However, most citizens still command good salaries. There is no minimum wage. The standard workweek is Monday through Thursday and Saturday, with Friday and Sunday off, allowing for two 24-hour rest periods each week. Overtime is paid for work in excess of 48 hours per week, and double time is paid for work performed on legal holidays. Occupational health and safety standards are established by government regulations. The DOL inspects working conditions on a routine basis and in response to complaints. The DOL generally enforces labor regulations effectively. However, in the unskilled labor sector enforcement is lax, especially for foreign laborers. The DOL may close any workplace where health, safety, or working conditions are unsatisfactory, and it has done so in the past. The law permits a worker to leave a hazardous job site without jeopardizing his employment, but in practice this is unlikely to happen.

 

Approximately 80,000 foreign nationals work in the country. There were reports of cases of domestic bondage of foreign domestic workers. There also have been isolated reports of employers physically beating domestic employees or not providing them adequate food. The Government has prosecuted some such cases; however, since most female domestics are foreign workers who are highly dependent on their employers, those subject to abuse may be unwilling or unable to bring complaints.

 

About 20,000 foreigners work in the garment industry. Workers and observers have protested conditions in some factories in that industry, including inadequate accommodations, unsanitary facilities, and relatively large deductions from pay. Bangladesh reportedly no longer permits its nationals to work in garment factories in Brunei. The Philippine Embassy assisted some of its nationals who wanted to return to the Philippines due to poor living and working conditions at one garment factory.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The Law for the Protection of Women and Girls prohibits trafficking in women and girls, whether or not for the purpose of prostitution. There are occasional reports of women entering the country for purposes of prostitution (which is illegal), but they usually are deported swiftly. Although there are no laws that specifically refer to trafficking in men and boys, there are laws that criminalize aspects of trafficking. There were reports that Indonesians were trafficked to the country to work in construction.

 

Employment agents in Brunei and other countries reportedly bring workers to the country from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and other countries under false promises of well-paying jobs as teachers or shop workers only to force them later to accept jobs as laborers or agricultural workers. There also were reports of employers confiscating the passports of domestic workers in order to prevent them from leaving the country.

 

BRUNEI - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The standard workweek is Monday through Thursday and Saturday, with Friday and Sunday off, allowing for two 24-hour rest periods each week. Overtime is paid for work in excess of 48 hours per week, and double time is paid for work performed on legal holidays.

 

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