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Gabon - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Libreville

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; always hot and humid.

 

LANGUAGES

French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, and Bandjabi.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Gabon’s legal system is based on French civil law system and customary law. Gabon has judicial review of legislative acts in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court. Gabon has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

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.

 

GABON - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

GABON - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Libreville

Boulevard de la Mer

B.P. 4000

Libreville, Gabon

Telephone: [241] 762003

Fax: [241] 745507

http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/gb1/wwwhmain.html

 

Embassy of the Gabonese Republic at Washington D.C.

2034 20th Street N.W., Suite 200

Washington D.C. 20009

Telephone: (202) 797-1000

Fax: (202) 332-0668

 

GABON - HOLIDAYS

 

GABON - LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum six weeks paid annual leave each year.

 

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

 

GABON - MINIMUM AGE

Children below the age of 16 may not work without the express consent of the Ministries of Labor, Education, and Public Health. These ministries rigorously enforced this law with respect to citizen children, and there were few citizens under the age of 18 working in the modern wage sector.

 

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

 

GABON - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The Labor Code governs working conditions and benefits for all sectors and provides a broad range of protection to workers. Traditionally representatives of labor, management, and the Government met annually to examine economic and labor conditions and to recommend a minimum wage rate within government guidelines to the President, who then issued an annual decree. This procedure has not been followed since 1994, in part because the Government was pursuing a policy of wage austerity recommended by international financial institutions. The monthly minimum wage was 44,000 CFA francs (approximately $61); government workers received an additional monthly allowance of 20,000 CFA francs (approximately $27). Government workers also receive transportation, housing, and family benefits; however, the law does not mandate housing or family benefits for private sector workers. Given the high cost of living, the minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

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

 

GABON - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution places no restrictions on the right of association and recognizes the right of citizens to form trade and labor unions. Virtually the entire private sector workforce is unionized. Unions must register with the Government in order to be recognized officially. Public sector employees may unionize although their right to strike is limited if it could jeopardize public safety. There are many independent unions, including powerful unions of teachers, civil servants, transport workers, and communications workers. Some independent unions have associated to form the Gabonese Confederation of Free Unions (CGSL). The Gabonese Labor Confederation (COSYGA) continued to be affiliated with the Government but has criticized publicly some government policies it perceived as contrary to labor interests. The Labor Code provides extensive protection of worker rights.

 

Strikes are legal if they are held after an 8-day notice advising that outside arbitration has failed. The Labor Code prohibits direct government action against individual strikers who abide by the arbitration and notification provisions. It also provides that the Government cannot press charges against a group for criminal activities committed by individuals.

 

In March court magistrates went on strike to protest poor working conditions and benefits; however, the strike was postponed when President Bongo indicated that he might meet some of their demands. When nothing happened, the magistrates went on strike again in May. In November the strike ended when the President met with the strikers and agreed to meet some of their demands.

 

In April court clerks went on strike to protest poor working conditions and low salaries. In October the strike ended when President Bongo met some of their demands by offering them computers and typewriters and agreeing to discuss salary restructuring.

 

In June and September, employees of the Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT), the state-owned post and telecommunications company, went on strike for higher pay and to protest plans to split and partially privatize the company.

 

In November employees at the state-owned television station RTG-1 went on strike to protest low salaries and poor working conditions. The employees resumed work voluntarily; however, they have discussed the possibility of renewed strike activity in the future.

 

In November and December, employees of the Libreville city hall went on strike to protest low salaries and poor working conditions. On December 12, three strikers were injured in clashes with police officers called in when strikers locked the gates of city hall and set fires in the parking lot.

 

In June in Port Gentil, police shot at demonstrators and used tear gas to disperse forcibly a protest by the Collective of Unemployed of Port Gentil against unemployment and a large number of noncitizens hired by local businesses.

 

Unions and confederations are free to affiliate with international labor bodies and participate in their activities. COSYGA is affiliated with the Organization of African Trade Union Unity, while the CGSL is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Both COSYGA and CGSL have ties with numerous other international labor organizations.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Labor Code provides for collective bargaining by industry, not by firm; collectively bargained agreements set wages for whole industries. Labor and management meet to negotiate differences, and the Ministry of Labor provides an observer. This observer does not take an active part in negotiations over pay scales, working conditions, or benefits. Agreements also apply to nonunion workers. While no laws specifically prohibit antiunion discrimination, the court may require employers who are found guilty by civil courts of having engaged in such discrimination to compensate employees.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such practices occurred. Some Pygmies reportedly lived in conditions tantamount to slavery.

 

The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, forced child labor is a problem. Children--in particular immigrant children--are forced to work as domestic servants or in the informal commercial sector.

 

The Government cooperated with UNICEF and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to combat forced child labor and child trafficking.

 

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

 

Children below the age of 16 may not work without the express consent of the Ministries of Labor, Education, and Public Health. These ministries rigorously enforced this law with respect to citizen children, and there were few citizens under the age of 18 working in the modern wage sector. A significant number of foreign children worked in marketplaces or performed domestic duties. These children generally did not go to school, received only limited medical attention, and often were the victims of exploitation by employers or foster families. Laws forbidding child labor theoretically extend protection to foreign children as well, but abuses often were not reported. An ILO study during the year estimated that the number of economically active children between the ages of 10 years and 14 years was 19,000 to 20,000, but the actual number was difficult to quantify since most children worked in the informal sector.

 

In April the Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor. The Legal Code stipulates fines and prison sentences for violations of the minimum age for working. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for implementing and enforcing child labor laws and regulations. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor are responsible for receiving, investigating, and addressing child labor complaints; however, the inspection force is inadequate, complaints are not investigated routinely, and violations are not addressed adequately.

 

The Government prohibits forced and bonded child labor; however forced child labor is a problem. Concerned organizations reported that government officials employed trafficked foreign children as domestic workers and also alleged that government officials might be involved in facilitating child trafficking.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Labor Code governs working conditions and benefits for all sectors and provides a broad range of protection to workers. Traditionally representatives of labor, management, and the Government met annually to examine economic and labor conditions and to recommend a minimum wage rate within government guidelines to the President, who then issued an annual decree. This procedure has not been followed since 1994, in part because the Government was pursuing a policy of wage austerity recommended by international financial institutions. The monthly minimum wage was approximately $61 (44,000 CFA francs); government workers received an additional monthly allowance of $27 (20,000 CFA francs). Government workers also receive transportation, housing, and family benefits; however, the law does not mandate housing or family benefits for private sector workers. Given the high cost of living, the minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

The code stipulates a 40-hour workweek with a minimum rest period of 48 consecutive hours. Employers must compensate workers for overtime work. All companies in the modern wage sector pay competitive wages and grant generous fringe benefits required by law, including maternity leave and 6 weeks of annual paid vacation.

 

The Ministry of Health established occupational health and safety standards, but it did not enforce or regulate them effectively. The application of labor standards varied greatly from company to company and between industries. The Government reportedly does not enforce Labor Code provisions in sectors where the bulk of the labor force is foreign. Foreign workers, both documented and undocumented, may be obliged to work under substandard conditions; may be dismissed without notice or recourse; or may be mistreated physically, especially in the case of illegal aliens. Employers frequently require longer hours of work from noncitizen Africans and pay them less, often hiring on a short-term, casual basis in order to avoid paying taxes, social security contributions, and other benefits. In the formal sector, workers may remove themselves from dangerous work situations without fear of retribution.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

No law specifically prohibits trafficking in persons. Trafficking in children is a serious problem, and the Government does not actively investigate cases of trafficking and has not prosecuted any cases against traffickers. There were reports that some trafficked women and children were sexually abused.

 

Children (especially girls) were trafficked into the country, primarily from Benin and Togo, for use as domestic servants or in the informal commercial sector. Some of the children suffered sexual abuse. Nigerian children were trafficked to the country primarily to work in the informal commercial sector.

 

In previous years, there were reports that children were trafficked to the country to work on plantations; however, these reports were inaccurate. There is very little commercial agricultural activity, and observers believe that all children trafficked to the country are working either as domestic servants or in the informal sector.

 

GABON - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

GABON - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The Labor Code stipulates a 40-hour workweek with a minimum rest period of 48 consecutive hours. Employers must compensate workers for overtime work.

 

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