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Equatorial Guinea - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Malabo

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate, always hot, and humid.

 

LANGUAGES

Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, and Ibo.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Equatorial Guinea’s legal system is partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom.

 

CURRENCY

Communaute Financiere Africaine Franc (1 USD = 776.640 XAF as of April 15, 2002).

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

The United States does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (the embassy closed in September 1995). U.S. relations with Equatorial Guinea are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon.

 

U.S. Embassy at Yaounde (Cameroon)

Rue Nachtigal

P.O. Box 817, Yaounde

Yaounde, Cameroon

Telephone: (237) 223-05-12

Fax: (237) 223-07-53

http://usembassy.state.gov/malabo/

 

Embassy of Equatorial Guinea at Washington, D.C.

2020 16th Street, NW

Washington DC 20009

Telephone: (202) 518-5700

Fax: (202) 518-5252

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - HOLIDAYS

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA – LEAVE

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - MINIMUM AGE

The legal minimum age for the employment of children is 14 years.

 

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The minimum monthly wage ranges from 75,000 CFA (approximately $100) per month for unqualified workers to 750,000 CFA (approximately $1,000) per month for oil sector professionals. Oil sector workers receive a much higher scale than elsewhere in the national economy, often 10 times the minimum wage. The mandated minimum wage in the oil sector is twice the minimum wage in commercial enterprises.

 

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - REMUNERATION

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - 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 right to organize unions, and during the year, the Small Farmers Syndicate (OSPA) became the first legally recognized labor union. According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the Government never has allowed the registration of unions; as a result, the Equatorial Guinea Trade Union, which was founded in 1990, has been forced to carry out its activities in secret. There are a few cooperatives with limited power. The law stipulates that a union must have at least 50 members who are from a specific workplace and located in the same geographic area to register; this effectively has blocked union formation. Since 1992 the CPDS has tried unsuccessfully to legalize its affiliated Union Sindical de Trabajadores (UST). An independent union, Sindicator Independiente de Servicios (SIS), initially applied for registration twice in 1995 with subsequent reapplication in 1996, but the Government denied SIS's applications. Although SIS's registration met the requirements of the law, the authorities denied it.

 

The 1992 Law of Associations and Syndicates provides that a separate law be enacted to govern unions for civil servants; however, this law has not been enacted. The law guarantees the right to strike. The Labor Code contains provisions to uphold worker rights, but the Government generally does not enforce them, in part because of inadequate staffing in the Ministry of Labor.

 

Membership in the PDGE generally is a prerequisite for hiring and promotion, both in the public and private sectors. Membership in a rival political organization is considered grounds for dismissal from any position, public or private. Opposition politicians who are not participating in the Government often claimed to have been dismissed from their jobs after joining alternate political groups.

 

During the year, the country's major private employer, the oil industry, which is dominated by foreign firms, continued to take steps to reduce government control of hiring in the industry. The companies employed methods ranging from public advertising of jobs and objective testing to screening of applicants by non-Equatoguineans only, in their attempt to eliminate the former political bias in the hiring process.

 

During the year, the Government ratified the six remaining International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions, including Convention 87 on freedom of association and Convention 111 on nondiscrimination in employment. In May an ILO team met with the Government to discuss reform of the country's labor laws and ILO assistance for labor inspectors; however, no subsequent action was taken by year's end.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law guarantees workers the right to organize and bargain collectively; however, there are many legal requirements before collective bargaining is permitted, which limits unions' ability to organize. There is no evidence of collective bargaining by any group; however, the Labor Ministry sometimes mediates labor disputes. The Government and employers set wages, with little or no participation by workers. Employers must pay the minimum wages set by the Government, and most companies pay more than the government-established minimum wage. During the year, the Government ratified six ILO conventions, including Convention 98 on the right to organize and bargain collectively.

 

There is no law prohibiting antiunion discrimination. Apart from the Labor Ministry, workers have few other places to seek redress. Members of the National Assembly reportedly try to mediate employee-worker disputes over wages or dismissals. However, parliamentarians can only rely on moral authority in reaching agreements.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law forbids forced or compulsory labor and slavery; however, detainees and convicted felons perform extensive labor outside prison, including for prison officials, without compensation. During the year, the Government ratified six ILO conventions, including Conventions 29 and 105 on forced labor.

 

The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children, and there were no reports that it occurred.

 

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

 

The legal minimum age for the employment of children is 14 years, but the Ministry of Labor does not enforce this law, and child labor is common particularly on family farms and businesses. The Government also does not enforce the law that stipulates mandatory education up to the age of 18. Underage youth perform both family farm work and street vending. While the Ministry of Labor is responsible for the enforcement of labor legislation, the Government does not have a comprehensive policy on child labor.

 

During the year, the Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor, which the Chamber of Deputies had approved in 2000.

 

The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children, and there were no reports that it occurred.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The minimum monthly wage ranges from $100 (75,000 CFA) per month for unqualified workers to $1,000 (750,000 CFA) per month for oil sector professionals. Oil sector workers receive a much higher scale than elsewhere in the national economy, often 10 times the minimum wage. The mandated minimum wage in the oil sector is twice the minimum wage in commercial enterprises. The minimum wage is not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The law prescribes a standard 35-hour workweek and a 48-hour rest period, which are observed in practice in the formal economy.

 

In January several employees of the Malabo city administration sought payment of overdue wages and asked for assistance from the Labor Ministry. An inspector from the Labor Ministry called a meeting with the workers and asked the Malabo city administration to send a representative. The Mayor of Malabo, a senior PDGE official, came to the meeting, berated the Ministry inspector for meddling, refused to discuss the case, and warned the inspector to drop the case. The Labor Ministry reportedly took no further action on the case.

 

The Labor Code provides for comprehensive protection for workers from occupational hazards; however, the Government does not enforce this in practice. The Government has seven labor inspectors in Malabo and five based in Bata, which was an insufficient number to oversee local industry. The Government began training more inspectors during the year.

 

Employees who protested unhealthy or dangerous working conditions risked losing their jobs

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, and there were reports that the country increasingly was being used as a transit point for trafficked persons. A 1998 UNICEF study also stated that the country is a source for traffickers that feeds the domestic labor market in urban centers of countries such as Cote d'Ivoire and Gabon.

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The law prescribes a standard 35-hour workweek and a 48-hour rest period, which are observed in practice in the formal economy.

 

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