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Gambia, The - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Banjul

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; hot, rainy season from June to November; and a cooler, dry season from November to May.

 

LANGUAGES

English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, and other indigenous vernaculars.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

The Gambia’s legal system is based on a composite of English common law, Koranic law, and customary law. The Gambia accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.

 

CURRENCY

The Gambian Dalasi (1 USD = 18.87000 GMD as of April 15, 2002).

 

GAMBIA - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

GAMBIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Banjul

Fajara, Kairaba Avenue

Banjul, Gambia

P.M.B. 19

Banjul, Gambia

Telephone: (220) 392-856

Fax: (220) 392-475

 

Embassy of the Gambia at Washington D.C.

1155 15th Street N.W., Suite 1000

Washington D.C. 20005

Telephone: (202) 785-1399

Fax: (202) 785-1430

 

GAMBIA - HOLIDAYS

 

GAMBIA – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Government employees - 1 month of paid annual leave after 1 year of service. Private sector employees - 14 and 30 days of paid annual leave, depending on length of service.

 

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 100% of pay (paid by employer).

 

GAMBIA - MINIMUM AGE

The statutory minimum age for employment is 18 years. Child labor protection does not extend to youth performing customary chores on family farms or engaged in petty trading.

 

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

 

GAMBIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

Minimum wages and working hours are established by law through six joint industrial councils: Commerce; Artisans; Transport; Port Operations; Agriculture; and Fisheries. Labor, management, and the Government are represented on these councils. The lowest minimum wage is approximately 12 dalasi per day (approximately $0.66) for unskilled labor. This minimum wage is not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

 

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

 

GAMBIA - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Labor Act, which applies to all workers except civil servants, specifies that workers are free to form associations, including trade unions, and provides for their registration with the Government. Unions must register to be recognized, and there were no cases where registration was denied to a union that applied for it. The Labor Act specifically prohibits police officers and military personnel, as well as other civil service employees, from forming unions. Approximately 20 percent of the work force is employed in the modern wage sector, where unions are most active. Approximately 30,000 workers are union members, constituting an estimated 10 percent of the work force.

 

The Gambian Worker's Confederation (GWC) and the Gambian Workers' Union (GWU) are the two main independent and competing umbrella organizations. The Government recognizes both organizations.

 

The Labor Act authorizes strikes but requires that unions give the Commissioner of Labor 14 days' written notice before beginning an industrial action (28 days for essential services). The Labor Act specifically prohibits police officers and military personnel, as well as other civil service employees, from striking. It prohibits retribution against strikers who comply with the law regulating strikes. Upon application by an employer to a court, the court may prohibit industrial action that is ruled to be in pursuit of a political objective. The court also may forbid action judged to be in breach of a collectively agreed procedure for settlement of industrial disputes. Because of these provisions and the weakness of unions, few strikes occur. There were no strikes during the year.

 

Unions and union confederations may affiliate internationally, and there were no restrictions on union members' participation in international labor activities. The GWU is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Labor Act allows workers to organize and bargain collectively. Although trade unions are small and fragmented, collective bargaining takes place. Each recognized union has guidelines for its activities determined by the Joint Industrial Council Agreement (JIC), an arrangement among all of the active trade unions and their employers, which was drafted and signed by the unions. Unions are able to negotiate without government interference; however, in practice the unions lack experience, organization, and professionalism, and often turn to the Government for assistance in negotiations. Union members' wages exceeded legal minimums and were determined by collective bargaining, arbitration, or agreements reached between unions and management and considered to be legal after insuring that the agreements are in compliance with the JIC (see Section 6.e.). No denial of registration was reported. The act also sets minimum contract standards for hiring, training, terms of employment, and provides that contracts may not prohibit union membership. Employers may not fire or discriminate against members of registered unions for engaging in legal union activities; and the Government has stepped in to assist workers who have been fired or discriminated against by employers.

 

The Government established an export processing zone (EPZ) at the port of Banjul and the adjacent bonded warehouses. Several companies, including peanut oil exporters, began operation in the EPZ in August 2000. The Labor Code covers workers in the EPZ's, and they are afforded the same rights as workers elsewhere in the economy.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and it is not known to occur. The law does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children; however, it is not known to occur.

 

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

 

The statutory minimum age for employment is 18 years. There is no effective compulsory education, and because of limited secondary school openings, most children complete formal education by the age of 14 and then begin work. Employee labor cards, which include a person's age, are registered with the Labor Commissioner, but enforcement inspections rarely take place. Child labor protection does not extend to youth performing customary chores on family farms or engaged in petty trading. In rural areas, most children assisted their families in farming and housework. In urban areas, many children worked as street vendors or taxi and bus assistants. There were a few instances of child street begging. The tourist industry has stimulated a low level of child prostitution.

 

In November 2000, the National Assembly approved ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor; and on July 3, the Government ratified the Convention. The Department of State for Labor was responsible for implementing the terms of the convention.

 

The law does not prohibit specifically forced or bonded labor by children; however, such practices are not known to occur.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

Minimum wages and working hours are established by law through six joint industrial councils: Commerce; Artisans; Transport; Port Operations; Agriculture; and Fisheries. Labor, management, and the Government are represented on these councils. The lowest minimum wage is approximately $0.66 (12 dalasi) per day for unskilled labor. This minimum wage is not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage law covers only 20 percent of the labor force, essentially those workers in the formal economic sector. The majority of workers are employed privately or are self-employed, often in agriculture. Most citizens do not live on a single worker's earnings, but they share resources within extended families.

 

The basic legal workweek is 48 hours within a period not to exceed 6 consecutive days. A 30-minute lunch break is mandated. Nationwide the workweek includes 4 8-hour workdays and 2 4-hour workdays (Friday and Saturday). Government employees are entitled to 1 month of paid annual leave after 1 year of service. Private sector employees receive between 14 and 30 days of paid annual leave, depending on length of service.

 

The Labor Act specifies safety equipment that an employer must provide to employees working in designated occupations. The Factory Act authorizes the Ministry of Labor to regulate factory health and safety, accident prevention, and dangerous trades, and the Ministry is authorized to appoint inspectors to ensure compliance with safety standards. Enforcement was inconsistent due to insufficient and inadequately trained staff. Workers may demand protective equipment and clothing for hazardous workplaces and have recourse to the Labor Department. The law provides that workers may refuse to work in dangerous situations without risking loss of employment; however, in practice workers who do so risk loss of employment.

 

During the year, at Sankung-Sillah soap factory a pipe carrying hot chemicals burst and killed and injured employees. After family members were denied compensation by the company, the Government intervened and ordered the company to provide proper compensation to the victims and their family members, an on-site first aid unit with trained personnel, and new protective gear for employees.

 

The law protects foreign workers employed by the Government; however, it only provides protection for privately employed foreigners if they have a current valid work permit. Foreign workers may join local unions.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits trafficking in persons, and there were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

 

GAMBIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

GAMBIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The basic legal workweek is 48 hours within a period not to exceed 6 consecutive days. A 30-minute lunch break is mandated. Nationwide the workweek includes 4 8-hour workdays and 2 4-hour workdays (Friday and Saturday).

 

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