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El Salvador - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

San Salvador

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; the rainy season is from May to October and the dry season is from November to April; tropical on the coast and temperate in the uplands.

 

LANGUAGES

Spanish and Nahua (among some Amerindians).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

El Salvador’s legal system is based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law. The system provides for judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court. El Salvador accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.

 

CURRENCY

Salvadoran Colon and U.S. Dollar (1 USD = 8.72000 SVC as of April 15, 2002).

 

EL SALVADOR - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

EL SALVADOR - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at San Salvador

Final Boulevard Santa Elena

Antiguo Cuscatlan Unit 3116

APO AA 34023

San Salvador, El Salvador

Telephone: [11] (503) 278-4444

Fax: [11] (503) 278-6011

http://www.usinfo.org.sv/

 

Embassy of El Salvador at Washington D.C.

2308 California Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 265-9671

Fax: (202) 234-3834

http://www.embassy.org/embassies/sv.html

 

EL SALVADOR - HOLIDAYS

EL SALVADOR – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum two weeks paid vacation each year.

 

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 75% of pay (paid by social security).

 

EL SALVADOR - MINIMUM AGE

The Constitution prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14.The law prohibits those under the age of 18 from working in occupations considered hazardous. The law limits the workday to 6 hours for youths between 14 and 18 years of age and sets a maximum normal workweek for youths at 36 hours.

 

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

 

EL SALVADOR - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The minimum daily wage is 42 colones (approximately $4.80) for commercial, industrial, construction, and service employees; 22 colones (approximately $2.47) for agricultural workers; and 31 colones (approximately $3.57) for seasonal agriculture industry workers. The minimum wage with benefits does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

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

 

EL SALVADOR - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides for the rights of workers and employers to form unions or associations, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, there were some problems. There were repeated complaints by workers, in some cases supported by the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA), that the Government impeded workers from exercising their right of association. In June the CFA reiterated its 1999 finding that the existing labor code restricts freedom of association.

 

Union leaders asserted that the Government and judges continued to impose excessive formalities to deny applications for legal standing to unions and federations. Among the requirements to obtain legal standing, unions must have a minimum of 35 members in the workplace, hold a convention, and elect officers. In March 2000, the Government denied an application from five food industry unions to form a federation, because they allegedly had made procedural errors in their application. Despite ILO findings in favor of the workers, the Ministry of Labor had not recognized the federation by year's end, and the Supreme Court had not decided on the complaint submitted by the workers in 2000.

 

In February the Ministry of Labor determined that the telecommunications union, SUTTEL, had committed a technical error in forming its board of directors in 2000. However, it upheld the union's official status and the union leaders' legal protections. All but two dismissed unionists accepted severance payment. The Ministry of Labor declined to issue an administrative finding that the telecommunications company TELECOM had obstructed the union's freedom of association in 2000 when it dismissed dozens of SUTTEL members shortly after the union's formation because, it asserted, issuing such a finding was not within its jurisdiction. However, labor advocates insisted that the Ministry was legally responsible for issuing an administrative finding and charged it was failing to perform its duty. In April TELECOM and SUTTEL signed an agreement to address outstanding issues in their dispute. As part of the accord, Telecom reinstated the two union officers who had not accepted severance pay. SUTTEL subsequently charged that the company prevented its members from entering certain plants to organize, violating its commitment to allow the union to conduct its business freely. SUTTEL also alleged that TELECOM placed one of the reinstated officers in a different position than he had held prior to being fired. TELECOM continued to refuse to reinstate two union leaders dismissed during the 1998 privatization of the state owned telecommunications company ANTEL.

 

There is a small organized labor sector with approximately 150 active unions, public employee associations, and peasant organizations, representing over 300,000 citizens, approximately 20 percent of the total work force. Unions generally are independent of the Government, political parties, and other political forces. The Labor Code prohibits foreigners from holding leadership positions in unions.

 

By law only private sector workers have the right to form unions and strike; some employees of autonomous public agencies may form unions if the agencies do not provide essential services. Military personnel, police, and government workers may not form unions but are allowed to form professional and employee organizations. Some of the most powerful labor groups are public employee associations. They have the same responsibilities as unions, including collective bargaining. The Government negotiated with public employee associations, although the Labor Code provides for mandatory arbitration of public sector disputes. The Government did not amend national legislation to recognize the right of association of workers employed in the service of the State, as recommended by the November 2000 CFA.

 

The law prohibits antiunion actions before a union is registered legally and prohibits the dismissal of workers whose names appear on a union application.

 

Unions only may strike after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement. Unions first must seek to resolve differences through direct negotiation, mediation, and arbitration before striking. To be considered legal, the strike must aim to obtain or modify a collective bargaining agreement and to defend the professional interests of workers. Union members must approve a decision to strike through secret ballot. The union must name a strike committee to serve as a negotiator and send the list of names to the Ministry of Labor, which notifies the employer. The union must wait 4 days from the time the Ministry notifies the employer before beginning the strike. There were no significant strikes during the year.

 

Public workers may not strike legally; however, the Government generally treated strikes called by public employee associations as legitimate.

 

In June the CFA recommended the closure of a case alleging mass unfair dismissals and violence against demonstrators following the March 2000 social security workers' strike. The CFA was satisfied with the Government's responses to the allegations. During the year, social security workers engaged in several work stoppages ranging from 2 to 24 hours. During a daylong action in August, they prevented doctors and patients from entering the facilities. In September the Labor Ministry determined the action was an illegal strike and authorized the Social Security Institute (ISSS) to suspend for up to 30 days employees who had participated. On October 15, the ISSS dismissed 6 employees and suspended 22 others over an illegal work stoppage on May 30. The Social Security Workers Association charged that the punitive measures were illegal because the law prohibits the dismissal or suspension of union leaders, and filed a complaint with a labor court. The court had issued no decision by year's end.

 

The Labor Code prohibits partisan political activity by unions. The unions routinely ignored this prohibition, but the Government took no punitive action against them.

 

Unions and other labor organizations freely affiliated with international labor organizations.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Constitution and the Labor Code provide for collective bargaining rights for employees in the private sector and for certain categories of workers in autonomous government agencies, such as utilities and the port authority. However, both private sector unions (by law) and public sector employee associations (in practice) used collective bargaining.

 

The Ministry of Labor oversees implementation of collective bargaining agreements and acts as a conciliator in labor disputes in the private sector and in autonomous government institutions. In practice, ministers and the heads of autonomous government institutions often negotiate with labor organizations directly, relying on the Ministry of Labor only for such functions as officially certifying unions. The Ministry often seeks to conciliate labor disputes through informal channels rather than attempt to enforce regulations strictly, which has led to charges that the Ministry is biased against labor. Labor leaders assert that the Government had an unfair advantage in arbitration of public sector labor disputes, because the Government holds two of three seats on arbitration panels. (The employer, the workers, and the Labor Ministry each name one representative to a panel.) Corruption among labor inspectors and in the labor courts continued to be a problem. In June the Labor Ministry removed from their positions five inspectors, including a senior inspector, who had been accepting bribes from companies.

 

The Constitution prohibits discrimination against unions. It provides that union officials at the time of their election, throughout their term, and for 1 year following their term may not be fired, suspended for disciplinary reasons, removed, or demoted except for legal cause. However, the Labor Code does not require the employers to reinstate them, but requires the employers to provide a severance payment. In practice, some employers dismissed workers who sought to form unions. The Government generally ensured that employers paid severance to these workers. However, in most cases the Government did not prevent their dismissal or require their reinstatement. Workers and the ILO reported instances of employers using illegal pressure to discourage organizing, including the dismissal of labor activists and the maintenance of lists of workers who would not be hired because they had belonged to unions.

 

On September 24, the Government suspended approximately 190 security and cargo personnel at El Salvador's International Airport and the Port of Acajutla and replaced them with police and soldiers. The change was part of the Government's efforts to strengthen border security following terrorist attacks in the United States. The airport union charged that the semiautonomous port authority (CEPA) targeted union members to break the union and privatize some of CEPA's functions. The union also maintained that CEPA management pressured workers who remained employed at the airport after September 24 to renounce their union affiliation. In September and October, the union filed complaints with the Labor Ministry, the labor courts, the PDDH, and the ILO. CEPA denied the charges and insisted that it had adhered strictly to the law. CEPA offered the suspended workers a voluntary retirement package of 1 month's pay for every year worked. In October the Labor Ministry sought to mediate a solution. However, the parties made little progress and decided to withdraw from negotiations. At the end of the year almost 100 workers had accepted the voluntary retirement package. The PDDH had not issued a formal resolution by the end of the year. However, her staff indicated that, after analyzing the facts, they found that the Government had violated the workers' rights.

 

There are approximately 220 maquila (in-bond assembly or processing) plants, the majority of which are located in the country's 11 EPZ's. The Labor Code applies in the EPZ's; there are no special EPZ labor regulations.

 

Most businesses in the EPZ's are subject to a growing number of private codes of conduct, which also include some worker rights protections. In addition, two EPZ's have their own codes of conducts for all tenants. These codes include worker rights protection clauses; however, it is not known if they state the ILO's Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Some companies in the EPZ's provided salaries and on-site benefits (for example, clinics, cafeterias) competitive with the best private sector enterprises (see Section 6.e.). However, there were credible reports that some factories dismissed union organizers, and there are no collective bargaining agreements with the 19 unions that exist in the maquila sector. The International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) contended in its 2000 report that some EPZ workers also received low pay, endured health and safety risks, 12- to 14-hour workdays, and had minimal toilet and rest breaks. The Government contends that the workers often prefer not to use safety equipment, and they have time for toilet and rest breaks. Furthermore, the Government reported that it had received no complaints of minimum-wage violations during the year.

 

On May 9, a foreign NGO, the National Labor Committee (NLC), made public the text of an August 2000 report on the maquila sector by the Labor Ministry that described what it called the systematic violation of workers' efforts to form unions as well as safety problems and mandatory overtime policies. The report also identified weaknesses in the Ministry of Labor that undermined employers' and workers' confidence in the institution. After the initial publication of the report, the maquila association criticized it as unsubstantiated and inaccurate. Labor NGO's, unions, and workers affirmed that it described accurately conditions in the sector. In August 2000, the Minister of Labor retracted the report, saying that it had been published without his approval and did not have adequate documentation of its assertions. President Flores stated publicly that the report showed the Ministry of Labor was working to monitor conditions in the maquilas.

 

In June the EPZ apparel factory Amitex fired 78 workers involved in forming a union. The company reinstated 55 of the workers a week later after strong interventions by the Labor Ministry as well as letters from the factory's principal customer and an international NGO. The remaining 23 workers accepted severance pay in lieu of reinstatement. In September Amitex dismissed 13 of the reinstated workers. The Ministry of Labor sought their reinstatement; however, the company chose to pay them severance pay. One pregnant woman refused to accept severance pay. (By law, pregnant women are protected from dismissal.) The worker, with assistance from a labor federation, filed a complaint with a labor court. There was no resolution on the case by the end of the year.

 

In 2000 the Ministry of Labor opened branch offices in EPZ's to make its services more accessible to its users. The Ministry provided the staff, and the EPZ's covered other costs.

 

Workers in a number of plants reported verbal abuse, sexual harassment and, in several cases, being hit by a supervisor. Although the Ministry of Labor has improved its efforts to increase inspection and follow up on such complaints, it still has insufficient resources to cover all the EPZ's, much less the much larger national private sector.

 

Although a 1996 law gives the Ministry of Economy the power to withdraw free zone privileges from companies that violate labor regulations, there have been no instances in which this has been used or even threatened publicly. The ICFTU has reported persistent problems facing female employees in EPZ's, including mandatory pregnancy tests and firing of workers who are pregnant.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except in the case of natural catastrophe and other instances specified by law, and the Government generally enforces this provision; however, trafficking in persons, primarily women and children, is a problem.

 

Although not specifically prohibited by law, forced and bonded labor by children is covered by the general prohibition. There were no reports that such practices occurred in the formal sector; however, there were reports that minors were forced into prostitution, and trafficking in children is a problem.

 

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

 

The Constitution prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14; however, child labor is a problem. An UNICEF study in 1998 showed that over 185,000 minors between the ages of 10 and 17 worked, the majority in agriculture. This number represented almost 17 percent of the population in that age group and constituted over 8 percent of the country's workforce. Minors, age 14 or older, may receive special Labor Ministry permission to work, but only where such employment is indispensable to the sustenance of the minor and his or her family. This is most often the case with children of peasant families who traditionally work during planting and harvesting seasons. The law prohibits those under the age of 18 from working in occupations considered hazardous. The law limits the workday to 6 hours for youths between 14 and 18 years of age and sets a maximum normal workweek for youths at 36 hours.

 

Orphans and children from poor families frequently work for their own or family survival as street vendors and general laborers in small businesses, mostly in the informal sector. Children in these circumstances often do not complete schooling. There were no reports of child labor in the industrial sector. It does not exist in the EPZ's.

 

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and made an effort to do so; however, scarce resources and the difficulty of monitoring the large informal sector limited its effectiveness outside the urban formal sector. In September 2000, the ILO's International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) opened an office in the country. The Government subsequently formed a National Steering Committee to begin implementing ILO Convention 182 composed of representatives of employers, workers, government agencies, and NGO's. The Steering Committee identified prostitution, work in garbage dumps, fishing, sugarcane farming, and fireworks manufacturing as the worst forms of child labor in the country. The Committee developed a strategy proposal and project proposals, which it submitted to the IPEC office for further elaboration. IPEC continued to conduct a number of pilot programs with international funding.

 

The Labor Code does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children, but they are covered by its general prohibition; however, there were reports that minors were forced into prostitution.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The minimum wage is set by executive decree based on recommendations from a tripartite (government, labor, and business) committee. The minimum daily wage is $4.80 (42 colones) for commercial, industrial, construction, and service employees; $2.47 (22 colones) for agricultural workers; and $3.57 (31 colones) for seasonal agriculture industry workers. The minimum wage with benefits does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing minimum wage laws and generally does so effectively in the formal sector. However, some maquila plants underpaid workers and failed to compensate them in accordance with the law for mandatory overtime.

 

The law sets a maximum normal workweek of 44 hours. It limits the workweek to no more than 6 days for all workers. It requires bonus pay for overtime. By law a full-time minimum wage employee is paid for an 8-hour day of rest in addition to the 44-hour normal workweek and receives an average of 1 month's wage a year in required bonuses plus 2 weeks of paid vacation. Many workers worked more hours than the legal maximum; some were paid overtime but others were not.

 

The Constitution and the Labor Code require employers, including the Government, to take steps to ensure that employees are not placed at risk in their workplaces. These laws prohibit the employment of persons under 18 years of age in occupations considered hazardous or morally dangerous, such as bars and billiard halls; the prohibition also applied to hazardous occupations such as agricultural work with poisonous chemicals or factory work with dangerous equipment. The Labor Code prohibits pregnant women from engaging in strenuous physical exertion at the workplace after the 4th month of pregnancy. Health and safety regulations are outdated, and enforcement is inadequate. The Ministry of Labor attempts to enforce the applicable regulations but has restricted powers and limited resources to enforce compliance. Workers in some maquilas expressed concerns about unhealthy drinking water, unsanitary bathrooms, and eating facilities, and inadequate ventilation (problems with dust and heat). Some of the largest plants have dust control, air conditioning, on-site medical facilities, and enforced safety regimes.

 

On May 9, the NLC made public the text of an August 2000 report by the Labor Ministry on conditions in the country's maquilas. According to the report, many factories failed to provide basic safety equipment and had mandatory overtime policies. The report faulted some factories for setting unrealistic production quotas and for requiring many workers to put in extra hours with no pay when they fell short of those quotas. In addition, the report described what it called the systematic violation of workers' efforts to form unions.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

In October the Legislative Assembly approved criminal code reforms that prohibited trafficking in persons. Prior to the reforms the Criminal Code stipulated that any crime involving "commerce in women or children" automatically carried a 30 percent increase in the prison sentence or fine that otherwise would be imposed for that crime; however, trafficking in persons is a problem.

 

Women and children are trafficked for prostitution to Mexico, Guatemala, and other Central American countries. There are credible reports that women and children are lured to Mexico by procurers only to be sold to owners of establishments there who then force the trafficked persons to work off the debt as prostitutes. According to Guatemalan authorities, street children from El Salvador are lured to border areas with Guatemala where they are then forced into prostitution by organized rings. Trafficking of female teenagers, from 14 to 19 years of age, for sexual exploitation also occurs within the country from the south to the northern ports of Acajutla and La Libertad. The majority of trafficked victims transiting El Salvador are from Nicaragua, Honduras, and South America. The most common methods used to approach the victims are kidnaping, lucrative job offers, and inducement into prostitution by friends.

 

According to press reports, Honduran children were brought to San Salvador to beg for their sponsors. The Government investigated and took a number of children into custody. When their parents could not be found, they were turned over to the ISPM.

 

The Government, through the office of the Attorney General, has created a unit for the protection of women and children that is charged with the investigations of cases of abuse against women and children, including trafficking. The PNC, the Child Protection Institute, and the Directorate of Immigration also actively are involved in combating trafficking in persons. However, the investigative units are new and poorly funded, and the Government has not prosecuted traffickers.

 

The Government deports non-Salvadoran victims of trafficking; however, victims can obtain temporary residency or refugee status if they are likely to face political persecution in the country of origin. Access to legal, medical, and psychological services is provided to the victims. Victims of trafficking are not treated as criminals. The Government does not provide assistance to its repatriated citizens who are victims of trafficking, nor does it support the NGO's that assist them.

 

EL SALVADOR - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

EL SALVADOR - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The law sets a maximum normal workweek of 44 hours with no more than 6 days for all workers. The law also requires bonus pay for overtime. By law a full-time minimum wage employee is paid for an 8-hour day of rest in addition to the 44-hour normal workweek and receives an average of 1 month's wage a year in required bonuses plus 2 weeks of paid vacation.

 

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