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Guinea-Bissau - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Bissau

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season from June to November with southwesterly winds; dry season from December to May with northeasterly harmattan winds.

 

LANGUAGES

Portuguese (official), Crioulo, and African languages.

 

CURRENCY

Communaute Financiere Africaine Francs (1 USD = 743.200 XOF as of April 15, 2002).

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

The United States does not maintain an embassy in Guinea-Bissau. The U.S. Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and the military-led junta.

 

Embassy of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau at Washington D.C.

1511 K Street, N.W. Suite 519

Washington D.C. 20005

Telephone: (202) 347-3950

Fax: (202) 347-3954

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - HOLIDAYS

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 60 days – 100% of pay (paid by employer and social security).

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - MINIMUM AGE

The legal minimum age is 14 years for general factory labor and 18 years for heavy or dangerous labor, including all labor in mines.

 

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

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The Government's Council of Ministers annually establishes minimum wage rates for all categories of work; however, it does not enforce them. The lowest monthly wage is 14,800 CFA francs (approximately $20). This wage is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, and workers must supplement their income through other work, reliance on the extended family, and subsistence agriculture.

 

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

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides all civilian workers with the freedom to form and join independent trade unions. However, the vast majority of the population works in subsistence agriculture. Most union members are government or parastatal employees; only a small percentage of workers are in the wage sector and are organized.

 

The Government registers all labor unions. There are 11 labor unions registered and operating in the country. All unions officially are independent of the Government, but seven unions are affiliated with the National Workers Union of Guinea-Bissau (UNTGB), which retains close informal ties with the PAIGC. The law does not favor UNTGB-affiliated unions over others.

 

The Constitution provides for the right to strike and protection for workers from retribution for strike activities. The only legal restriction on strike activity is the requirement for prior notice. In past years, several unions have conducted legal strikes with no retribution against the strikers. In October judges and prosecutors throughout the country organized a 30-day strike to protest the removal of the justices on charges of corruption. Also in October, the Government locked out a number of judges returning to work at the end of their 30-day strike. The National Assembly criticized the lockout, and the judges were permitted to return after 1 day.

 

In March the Government's refusal to intervene on the behalf of the Union of Bissau Guinean Workers (UNTG) discouraged the union from continuing its strike, and employees of the national radio and television stations returned to work after walking out for up to 15 days.

 

During the year, the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Committee of Experts made 13 direct requests to the Government for information and 4 observations regarding the country's treatment and implementation of ILO conventions.

 

All unions are able to affiliate freely with national confederations and international labor organizations of their choice. The UNTGB is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Individual unions belong to International Trade Secretariats.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Constitution does not provide for or protect the right to bargain collectively, and there were no instances of genuine collective bargaining. Most wages are established in bilateral negotiations between workers and employers, taking into consideration the minimum salaries set annually by the Government's Council of Ministers.

 

The Government's provisions for the protection of workers against antiunion discrimination have very little effect due to low union membership. Although there are no laws providing sanctions against employers practicing such discrimination, no workers have alleged antiunion discrimination, and the practice is not believed to be widespread.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that such practices occurred.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and these prohibitions generally are enforced in the formal sector; however, children often are forced by their parents or guardians to work as street traders or agricultural laborers in the informal sector. The Government has not taken action to combat such practices.

 

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

 

The legal minimum age is 14 years for general factory labor and 18 years for heavy or dangerous labor, including all labor in mines. These minimum age requirements generally are followed in the small formal sector, but the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Civil Service and Labor do not enforce these requirements in other sectors.

 

The Government has not ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded child labor; however, forced child labor is a problem. Children in cities often work in street trading, and those in rural communities do domestic and fieldwork without pay. The Government does not attempt to discourage these practices.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Government's Council of Ministers annually establishes minimum wage rates for all categories of work; however, it does not enforce them. The lowest monthly wage is approximately $20 (14,800 CFA francs). This wage is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, and workers must supplement their income through other work, reliance on the extended family, and subsistence agriculture.

 

The maximum number of hours permitted in a normal workweek without further compensation is 45, but the Government does not enforce this provision. With the breakdown of the formal economy in 1998, most of the country returned to barter, and both the Government and private sectors lacked the funds to pay salaries. Since January 2000, the Government has failed to pay on a regular basis its teachers, civil servants, and medical practitioners.

 

With the cooperation of the unions, the Ministry of Justice and Labor establishes legal health and safety standards for workers, which then are adopted into law by the National Assembly. However, these standards are not enforced, and many persons work under conditions that endanger their health and safety. Workers do not have the right to remove themselves from unsafe working conditions without losing their jobs. In view of the high unemployment rate, a worker who left for such reasons could be replaced easily.

 

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.

 

* On June 14, 1998, the United States Embassy suspended operations in the midst of heavy fighting in Guinea-Bissau and all official personnel in the country were evacuated. This report is based on information obtained by U.S. embassies in neighboring countries and from other sources.

 

GUINEA-BISSAU - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The maximum number of hours permitted in a normal workweek without further compensation is 45.

 

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