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Dominica - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Roseau

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; moderated by northeast trade winds and heavy rainfall.

 

LANGUAGES

English (official), and French patois.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Dominica’s legal system is based on English common law.

 

CURRENCY

East Caribbean dollar (1 USD = 2.67000 XCD as of April 15, 2002).

 

DOMINICA - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

DOMINICA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

The United States does not have an embassy in Dominica. U.S. interests are served by the embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados.

 

U.S. Embassy at Bridgetown (Barbados)

The American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) Building

P.O. Box 302

Bridgetown, Barbados

Telephone: [246] 436-4950

Fax: [246] 429-5246

http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/bb1/wwwhmain.html

 

Embassy of the Commonwealth of Dominica

3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW,

Washington DC 20016

Telephone: (202) 364-6781

Fax: (202) 364-6791

 

DOMINICA - HOLIDAYS

 

DOMINICA – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum two weeks paid vacation each year.

 

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 60% of pay (paid by social security and employer).

 

DOMINICA - MINIMUM AGE

The minimum legal age for employment is 15 years.

 

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

 

DOMINICA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The law sets minimum wages for various categories of workers, but these were last revised in 1989. The minimum wage rate for some categories of workers (e.g., household employees) is as low as EC$1.00 per hour (approximately $0.37) if meals are included. However, minimum wages for most workers fall in a range between EC$2.00 per hour (approximately $0.74) for tourist industry workers to EC$3.00 per hour (approximately $1.11) for occupations such as shop clerks. Minimum wages are not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. However, most workers (including domestic employees) earn more than the legislated minimum wage for their category.

 

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

 

DOMINICA - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

All workers have the legal right to organize, to choose their representatives, and to strike, but unions represent less than 10 percent of the work force. However the banana, coconut and citrus fruit industries as well as port services are deemed "essential services," which effectively prohibits workers in these sectors from going on strike. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has asked the Government to exclude these workers from the essential services category, since such employment is not considered to be essential in relevant international labor conventions.

 

All unions are independent of the Government. While there are no direct ties, members of certain political parties dominate some unions. There is no restriction on forming labor federations, but there is no Trades Union Congress. In June the Public Service Workers Union circulated a proposal to create a "congress of unions" as an umbrella organization, but it drew no response from other unions or employee associations. There were no significant strikes during the year. On November 1, 100 police officers staged a sick-out that briefly crippled operations around the island. The action was taken to draw attention to a decade-long dispute between the Government and the Police Welfare Association over pension benefits.

 

Unions may affiliate with various international labor bodies.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Unions have legally defined rights to organize workers and to bargain with employers. Collective bargaining is widespread in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy, including in government service, and there is also recourse to mediation and arbitration by the Government. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers, and judicial authorities enforce union rights. In addition, employers must reinstate workers fired for union activities. The law requires that employers recognize unions as bargaining agents once both parties have followed appropriate procedures. Department of Labor inspectors under the supervision of the Labor Commissioner enforce labor legislation, but the small Labor Inspection Office lacks sufficient personnel to carry out its duties.

 

Labor regulations and practices governing the country's industrial areas and export firms do not differ from those prevailing in the rest of the economy. There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including that by children, and such labor is not known to exist. The ILO has asked the Government to repeal the National Service Act, on the grounds that it is conducive to forced labor for economic development.

 

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

 

The minimum legal age for employment is 15 years. Employers generally observe this law without government enforcement. In April the Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The law prohibits forced or bonded child labor, and the Government enforces this prohibition effectively.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The law sets minimum wages for various categories of workers, but these were last revised in 1989. The minimum wage rate for some categories of workers (e.g., household employees) is as low as $0.37 (EC$1.00) per hour if meals are included. However, minimum wages for most workers fall in a range between $0.74 (EC$2.00) per hour for tourist industry workers to $1.11 (EC$3.00) per hour for occupations such as shop clerks. Minimum wages are not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. However, most workers (including domestic employees) earn more than the legislated minimum wage for their category. The Minimum Wage Advisory Board met in 1998 and recommended increases in these wage levels, but the Government had not yet acted upon these recommendations at year's end.

 

The labor standards laws state that no employer shall establish or maintain differences in wages between men and women performing the same or similar work with parallel responsibilities under similar conditions. The law further states that no employer may reduce the wages of an employee to comply with equal wage standards. The labor laws also provide that the Labor Commissioner may authorize the employment of a person with disabilities at a wage lower than the minimum rate in order to enable that person to be employed gainfully.

 

The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in 5 days. The law provides for a minimum of 2 weeks' paid vacation per year. The Employment Safety Act provides occupational health and safety regulations that are consistent with international standards. The Advisory Committee on Safety and Health is an established body but has never met. The rarely used enforcement mechanism consists of inspections by the Department of Labor, which can and does prescribe specific compliance measures, impose fines, and prosecute offenders. Workers have the right to remove themselves from unsafe work environments without jeopardy to continued employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

There are no laws that specifically address trafficking in persons.

 

The country has an economic citizenship program that allows foreign investors to purchase passports through loosely monitored procedures requiring cash inflows ranging from $15,000 (EC$40,000) to $50,000 (EC$135,000). This process reportedly has facilitated the illegal immigration of persons from China and other countries to North America where, in some cases, they may be forced by the criminal organizations that provided the funds to work under conditions similar to bonded labor to repay their debt. The new Government moved to curtail the economic citizenship program, following complaints from the Governments of Canada and Australia. However, a form of the program still existed at year's end. There were reports that 52 persons purchased economic citizenship between August 15, 2000, and January 12.

 

DOMINICA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

DOMINICA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in 5 days.

 

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