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Djibouti - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Djibouti

 

CLIMATE

Desert. Torrid and dry.

 

LANGUAGES

French (official), Arabic (official), Somali and Afar.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

The Djibouti legal system is based on French civil law system, traditional practices and Islamic law.

 

CURRENCY

Djibouti Francs (1 USD = 176.840 DJF as of April 15, 2002)

 

DJIBOUTI - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

DJIBOUTI - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Djibouti

Plateau du Serpent

Boulevard Marechal Joffre

B.P. 185

Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti

Telephone: [253] 35-39-95

Fax: [253] 35-39-40

http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/dj1/

 

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

1156 15th Street N.W., Suite 515

Washington D.C. 20005

Telephone: (202) 331-0270

Fax: (202) 331-0302

 

DJIBOUTI - HOLIDAYS

 

DJIBOUTI – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Workers are provided paid annual leave.

 

Maternity Leave: 14 weeks – 50% of pay / 100% of pay for public workers (paid by employer and social security).

 

DJIBOUTI - MINIMUM AGE

The law prohibits all labor by children under the age of 14.

 

Children generally are not employed for hazardous work. Children may and do work in family-owned businesses, such as restaurants and small shops, at all hours.

 

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

 

DJIBOUTI - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

Only a small minority of the population is engaged in wage employment. The Government administratively sets minimum wage rates according to occupational categories, and the Ministry of Labor is charged with enforcement. The monthly wage rate for unskilled labor, set in 1976, is 22,000 DF (approximately $125). Most employers pay more than the minimum wage.

 

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

 

DJIBOUTI - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

Under the Constitution, workers are free to join unions and to strike provided that they comply with legally prescribed requirements; however, the Government restricts these rights. In 1999 the Government took control of the two largest labor federations, the General Union of Djiboutian Workers (UGTD) and the Union of Djiboutian Workers (UDT). Police broke into UDT offices and confiscated banners and the public address system that were to have been used in Labor Day ceremonies, and the Government dictated the election of its supporters to head the UDT and UGTD and took possession of union offices. The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) criticized the Government's actions. In 1999 the ILO reported that the situation of the country's unions had "gravely deteriorated." In response to ILO and ICFTU criticisms, the Government agreed to hold new elections; however, union officials were not given any date, and the fired union leaders were not reinstated by year's end.

 

The ILO rejected the credentials of government officials claiming to represent the UDT and UGTD at several international conferences.

 

Prior to the Government takeover, approximately 70 percent of workers in the small formal economy were members of the UDT or UGTD; however, since the takeover, there have been almost no independent union activities. The Djiboutian Labor Congress (CIDJITRA), composed of Ministry of Labor officials, created by the Government to counter the UDT and UGTD, did not appear to exist any longer. According to the ICFTU, "trade union freedoms now exist only on paper." The Government "has created a collective of grassroots trade unions, whose affiliates do not include one single representative organization with elected officials."

 

The law requires representatives of employees who plan to strike to contact the Ministry of Interior 48 hours in advance. The Government paid the salaries of teachers, security forces, and civil servants sporadically throughout the year; however, their salaries remained 6 months in arrears by year's end. During the year, there were occasional demonstrations by teachers and other civil servants protesting salary arrears. The demonstrations generally took place on Thursday mornings and peacefully dispersed after 1 or 2 hours. Kamil Hassan, a schoolteacher, who previously had been detained in 1997 as a leader of a teacher's strike, still was not permitted to teach in public schools.

 

On January 27, police arrested 60 members of the Union of Buildings and Public Works Workers who were striking to protest the dismissal of 26 workers by the Ministry of Transport. Police used tear gas and clubs to break up the strike. The strikers remained in Nagad Detention Center for 2 days.

 

In 2000 the ILO Conference Committee on the Application of Standards cited the country for its failure to address specific issues of labor law reform outlined by the ILO.

 

At its 2000 annual conference, the ILO urged the Government to enact the labor resolutions that it had signed in 1998. The ILO noted ongoing abuses by the Government in forbidding union meetings and preventing union officials from receiving their mail. The ILO Committee of Experts report released during the year indicated that little progress had been made.

 

The law permits unions to maintain relations and exchanges with labor organizations abroad, and the Government does not restrict such contact. The UDT is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Although labor has the legal right to organize and bargain collectively, collective bargaining rarely occurs. Relations between employers and workers are informal and paternalistic. Wage rates generally are established unilaterally by employers on the basis of Ministry of Labor guidelines. In disputes over wages or health and safety problems, the Ministry of Labor encourages direct resolution by labor representatives and employers. The Government can and does select labor representatives. The election of representatives also is influenced by the relationship between clan elders and clans with unions and workforces. Workers or employers may request formal administrative hearings before the Ministry's inspection service; however, critics claim that the service suffers from poor enforcement, due to its low priority and inadequate funding. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers found legally guilty of discrimination are required to reinstate workers fired for union activities; however, the Government does not enforce the law.

 

An export processing zone (EPZ) was established in 1994. Firms in the EPZ are exempt from the Government's social security and medical insurance programs. Instead they must provide either government or private accident insurance. Employers within the EPZ have authority to pay less than minimum wage, offer less annual leave than the rest of the country, and in the EPZ the work week is longer. Plans for the EPZ largely have failed; and it does little business and employs few persons.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that members of the security forces sometimes compel illegal immigrants to work for them under the threat of deportation.

 

The law 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

 

The law prohibits all labor by children under the age of 14, but the Government does not always enforce this prohibition effectively, and child labor, although not common, exists. A shortage of labor inspectors reduces the likelihood of investigation into reports of child labor. Children generally are not employed for hazardous work. Children may and do work in family-owned businesses, such as restaurants and small shops, at all hours.

 

The country has not ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.

 

The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children, and such practices are not known to occur.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

Only a small minority of the population is engaged in wage employment. The Government administratively sets minimum wage rates according to occupational categories, and the Ministry of Labor is charged with enforcement. The monthly wage rate for unskilled labor, set in 1976, is approximately $125 (22,000 DF). Most employers pay more than the minimum wage. Some workers also receive housing and transportation allowances. The national minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The Government owed 6 months worth of salary arrears to teachers, security forces, and civil servants at year's end.

 

By law the workweek is 40 hours, often spread over 6 days. Some employers ask employees to work up to 12 hours per day and pay them an additional wage. Workers are provided daily and weekly rest periods and paid annual leave. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing occupational health and safety standards, wages, and work hours. Because enforcement is ineffective, workers sometimes face hazardous working conditions, particularly at the port. Workers rarely protest, mainly due to fear that others willing to accept the risks may replace them. There are no laws or regulations permitting workers to refuse to carry out dangerous work assignments without jeopardy to continued employment.

 

Only legal foreign workers are protected under the law; undocumented workers are detained and deported.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

There is no specific law prohibiting trafficking in persons; however, there were no reports of persons being trafficked to, from, or within the country.

 

DJIBOUTI - STANDARD WORKWEEK

By law the workweek is 40 hours, often spread over 6 days. Some employers ask employees to work up to 12 hours per day and pay them an additional wage. Workers are provided daily and weekly rest periods and paid annual leave.

 

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