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Cameroon - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Yaoundé

 

CLIMATE

The climate varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north.

 

LANGUAGES

24 major African language groups, English (official), and French (official).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Cameroon’s legal system is based on French civil law system, with common law influence. Cameroon has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Cameroon Franc (1 USD = 776.640 XAF as of April 15, 2002).

Note: responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States.

 

CAMEROON - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

CAMEROON - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Yaounde

Rue Nachtigal

P.O. Box 817

Yaounde, Cameroon

Telephone: [237] 223-05-12

Fax: [237] 223-07-53

http://usembassy.state.gov/yaounde/

 

Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon at Washington D.C.

2349 Massachusetts Avenue N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 265-8790

Fax: (202) 387-3826

 

CAMEROON - HOLIDAYS

 

CAMEROON - LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 14 weeks – 100% of pay (paid by social security).

 

CAMEROON - MINIMUM AGE

The minimum age for the employment of children is 14 years of age. The law also bans night work and enumerates tasks that cannot be performed legally by children between the ages of 14 and 18 years. These tasks include moving heavy weights, dangerous and unhealthy tasks, working in confined areas, or tasks, such as prostitution, which could hurt a child's morality.

 

The law also states that a child's workday cannot exceed 8 hours. Employers are required to train children between the ages of 14 and 18, and work contracts must contain a training provision for minors. The law prohibits children from working before 6 a.m. or after midnight.

 

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

 

CAMEROON - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

Under the law, the Ministry of Labor is responsible for setting a single minimum wage applicable nationwide in all sectors. The minimum wage is 23,514 CFA francs per month (approximately $40). It does not provide a decent standard of living for an average worker and family.

 

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

 

CAMEROON - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The law allows workers to form and join trade unions; however, it imposes numerous restrictions. The law requires that unions register with the Government; it permits groups of at least 20 workers to organize a union by submitting a constitution, internal regulations, and nonconviction certifications for each of the 20 founding members. For unions in the private sector, the Government requires registration with the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Insurance. Unions for public sector workers must register with the Ministry of Territorial Administration. The law does not permit the creation of a union that includes both public and private sector workers. The Government indicated that it remits certification within 1 month of union application; however, in practice independent unions, especially in the public sector, have found it difficult to obtain registration. In addition the requirement for union registration apparently contradicts the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 87, to which

the country signed and agreed in 1960, and which states that unions have the right to exist through declaration, not through government recognition or registration. Registered unions were subject to government interference. The Government chooses the unions with which it will bargain; some independent unions have accused the Government of creating small, nonrepresentative unions amenable to the government position and with which it can negotiate. Some sections of the law never have taken effect because the presidency has not issued implementing decrees.

 

There are two trade union confederations: The Confederation of Cameroonian Trade Unions (CCTU), and the Union of Free Trade Unions of Cameroon (USLC). In 1997 the CCTU split into two rival factions, and the Government banned a conference by the CCTU's reformist faction, led by Benoit Essiga. A CCTU Congress held in 1999, which was attended by international observers and held under the auspices of the ILO, elected the reform faction slate of candidates to the CCTU leadership positions. However, the losing faction did not accept the results and continued to claim that it is the real CCTU. The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Insurance has stated that it will not recognize the new CCTU leadership as long as another CCTU faction used the same name. In 1998 the new CCTU leadership took their case to court and won; however, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Insurance continues to withhold official status. Other ministries within the Government informally recognize the new CCTU leadership and in

cluded them in appropriate seminars and invitations. In 2000 the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Insurance appeared to back publicly the losing CCTU faction at the expense of the reformist faction; however, a court declared an August "unity" conference, attended by 400 persons, illegal, stating that only the reformist faction of the CCTU had the power to convoke such a conference.

 

The Labor Code explicitly recognizes workers' right to strike, but only after mandatory arbitration. Arbitration proceedings are not enforceable legally and can be overturned or simply ignored by the Government. The law provides for the protection of workers engaged in legal strikes and prohibits retribution against them; however, these provisions of the law do not apply to civil servants, employees of the penitentiary system, or workers responsible for national security. Instead of strikes, civil servants are required to negotiate grievances directly with the minister of the concerned department and with the Minister of Labor.

 

During the year, labor unrest continued. There were strikes by workers in various state-owned companies and in the public service. In early January in Yaounde and Douala, primary school teachers went on strike to demand better pay. In mid-March workers of the Naval Shipyard launched a strike following the dismissal of two labor representatives. In late March, some workers on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline in the area of Nkongmeyos, Center Province, went on strike to demand better pay and contracts. On March 21 and 22, members of a primary education teachers union went on strike. On March 21, three of these teachers were arrested and released the next day. In early June, employees of the Douala II municipal council went on strike for unpaid back wages.

 

The CCTU is a member of the Organization of African Trade Unions and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The USLC is a member of the Organization of African Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law provides for collective bargaining between workers and management in workplaces, as well as between labor federations and business associations in each sector of the economy; however, no formal collective bargaining negotiations have taken place since 1996. When labor disputes arise, the Government chooses which labor union to invite into the negotiations, selectively excluding some labor representatives. Once agreements are negotiated, there is no mechanism to enforce implementation; some agreements between the Government and labor unions have been shelved or ignored by the Government after being negotiated.

 

The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers guilty of such discrimination are subject to fines of up to an amount equivalent to approximately $1,600 (1 million CFA francs). However, employers found guilty are not required to compensate the workers against whom they discriminated or to reinstate fired workers. The Ministry of Labor has reported no complaints of such discrimination during recent years; however, one organizer of the Union for Telecommunications Workers has claimed that his state-owned company demoted him due to his union activism.

 

There is an industrial free trade zone regime, but the Government did not grant approval to any firms to operate under it during the year. Free trade zone employers are exempt from some provisions of the Labor Code but must respect all internationally recognized worker rights.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, it occurs in practice. The authorities continued to allow prison inmates to be contracted out to private employers or used as communal labor for municipal public works.

 

There were credible reports that slavery continued to be practiced in northern parts of the country, including in the Lamidat of Rey Bouba, a traditional kingdom in the North Province. In the South and East Provinces, some Baka (Pygmies), including children, continued to be subjected to unfair and exploitative labor practices by landowners, such as working on the landowners' farms during harvest seasons without payment.

 

Trafficking in persons is a problem.

 

The Government does not prohibit forced and bonded labor by children, and there were reports that it occurred in practice.

 

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

 

The law protects children in the field of labor and education and specifies penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment for infringement of the law. On April 17, President Biya signed the decree that ratified ILO Convention 138 that sets the minimum age for the employment of children. The minimum age for the employment of children is 14 years of age. The law also bans night work and enumerates tasks that cannot be performed legally by children between the ages of 14 and 18 years. These tasks include moving heavy weights, dangerous and unhealthy tasks, working in confined areas, or tasks, such as prostitution, which could hurt a child's morality. The law also states that a child's workday cannot exceed 8 hours. Employers are required to train children between the ages of 14 and 18, and work contracts must contain a training provision for minors. The law prohibits children from working before 6 a.m. or after midnight, though this prohibition is not enforced effectively.

 

According to an ILO study conducted in 2000 in conjunction with local NGO's and the Ministry of Labor, child labor remains a serious problem, although the Government has made some progress to address it. The ILO estimated there were 602,000 child laborers and that 530,000 were subjected to the worst forms of child labor. In the nation's major cities of Yaounde, Douala, and Bamenda, between March and April, the ILO estimated that 40 percent of employed children were girls, 7 percent were less than 12 years of age, and 60 percent had dropped out of primary schools.

 

The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Labor are responsible for enforcing existing child labor laws through site inspections of registered businesses; however, lack of resources inhibited an effective inspection program. Moreover, the legal prohibitions do not include family chores, which in many instances are beyond a child's capacity to do. According to the ILO study, child labor in cities existed mainly in the informal sector such as street vending, car washing, agricultural work, and domestic service. An increasing number of children worked as household help, and some children were involved in prostitution. In the north of the country, there were credible reports that children from needy homes were placed with other families to do household work for money.

 

In rural areas, many children begin work at an early age on family farms. Often, relatives employed rural youth, especially girls, as domestic helpers, while many urban street vendors were less than 14 years of age.

 

The Government has signed, but not ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.

 

The Government does not prohibit forced and bonded labor by children, and there were reports that it occurred in practice.

 

Trafficking in children is a serious problem, and the country is a source, destination, and transit point for trafficked children.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

Under the law, the Ministry of Labor is responsible for setting a single minimum wage applicable nationwide in all sectors. The minimum wage is approximately $40 (23,514 CFA francs) per month. It does not provide a decent standard of living for an average worker and family.

 

The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours in public and private nonagricultural firms, and 48 hours in agricultural and related activities. The law makes compulsory at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest.

 

The Government sets health and safety standards, and Ministry of Labor inspectors and occupational health doctors are responsible for monitoring these standards; however, they lacked the resources for a comprehensive inspection program. There is no specific legislation permitting workers to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law provides that any person who engages in any trafficking in persons shall be punished with imprisonment of between 10 and 20 years, and that the court may also impose a forfeiture penalty. Trafficking is a problem, and the country is a source, transit, and destination point for internationally trafficked persons; trafficking also occurs within the country. An ILO report in 2000 pinpointed trafficking in children as especially serious. Children are trafficked from and through the country to other West African countries for indentured or domestic servitude, farm labor, and sexual exploitation.

 

CAMEROON - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

CAMEROON - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours in public and private nonagricultural firms, and 48 hours in agricultural and related activities. The law makes compulsory at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest.

 

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