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Honduras - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Tegucigalpa

 

CLIMATE

Subtropical climate in the lowlands and a temperate climate in the mountains.

 

LANGUAGES

Spanish and Amerindian dialects.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Honduras’ legal system is rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law. Recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system. Honduras accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.

 

CURRENCY

Honduran Lempira (1 USD = 16.95500 HNL as of April 15, 2002).

 

HONDURAS - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

HONDURAS - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Tegucigalpa

Avenida La Paz

Apartado Postal No. 3453

APO AA 34022

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Telephone: [504] 236-9320

Fax: [504] 236-9037

http://www.usmission.hn/

 

Embassy of Honduras at Washington D.C.

3007 Tilden Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 966-7702

Fax: (202) 966-9751

Email: Embassy@hondurasemb.org

http://www.hondurasemb.org

 

HONDURAS - HOLIDAYS

 

HONDURAS – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum ten days paid vacation each year after completing one year of service.

 

Maternity Leave: 10 weeks – 100% of pay (paid by employer and social security).

 

HONDURAS - MINIMUM AGE

The Constitution and the Labor Code prohibit the employment of minors under the age of 16, except that a child who is 15 years of age is permitted to work with parental and Ministry of Labor permission. The Children's Code prohibits a child of 14 years of age or younger from working, even with parental permission, and establishes prison sentences of 3 to 5 years for individuals who allow children to work illegally. An employer who legally hires a 15-year-old must certify that the child has finished, or is finishing, his compulsory schooling. The Ministry of Labor grants a limited number of work permits to 15-year-old children each year.

 

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

 

HONDURAS - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

Minimum wages that were established in 2000 and went into effect during the year apply to all sectors of the economy. Daily pay rates vary by geographic zone and the sector of the economy affected; urban workers earn slightly more than workers in the countryside. The lowest minimum wage occurs in the nonexport agricultural sector, where it ranges from 35.00 to 49.50 lempiras (approximately $2.25 to $3.19) per day, depending on whether the employer has more than 15 employees. The highest minimum wage is 63.30 lempiras ($4.08) per day in the export sector. All workers are entitled to an additional month's salary in June and December of each year.

 

Under the threat of a nationwide work stoppage by the country's three labor confederations, in October 2000, the private sector agreed to a monthly wage increase of 350 lempiras (approximately $23.33) for workers earning up to 1,749 lempiras ($116.60) per month. A monthly increase of 150 lempiras ($10) was retroactive to October 1, 2000, and an additional monthly increase of 200 lempiras ($13.33) took effect on February 1, 2001. This agreement excluded workers in the nonexport agricultural sector, who instead received a monthly wage increase of 150 lempiras ($10) as of February 1, 2001.

 

Under this agreement, workers earning between 2,100 lempiras ($140) and 6,000 lempiras ($400) per month received an additional wage increase of 350 lempiras ($23.33) as of April 1, 2001. This wage increase excluded: workers receiving a salary increase equivalent to, or greater than, 350 lempiras ($23.33) through either an individual contract or a collective bargaining agreement taking effect 3 months prior to April 1, 2001.

 

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

 

HONDURAS - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

Workers have the legal right to form and join labor unions; unions generally are independent of the Government and of political parties. Most peasant organizations are affiliated directly with the labor movement. Unions occasionally hold public demonstrations against government policies and make extensive use of the news media to advance their views. However, only about 14 percent of the work force is unionized, and the economic and political influence of organized labor has diminished in the past several years. In June the International Labor Organization (ILO) criticized legal restrictions on the ability of unions to federate domestically and recommended that the Government amend its legislation to ensure workers the right to form and join organizations of their own choosing. The ILO notes that various provisions in the law restrict freedom of association, including the prohibition of more than 1 trade union in a single enterprise, the requirement of more than 30 workers to constitute a trade union, and the requirement that trade union organizations must include more than 90 percent Honduran membership.

 

The labor movement is composed of three national labor organizations: the General Council of Workers (CGT), the Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), and the Unitary Confederation of Honduran Workers (CUTH).

 

The Constitution provides for the right to strike, along with a wide range of other basic labor rights, which the authorities generally respect in practice. The civil service code denies the right to strike to all government workers, other than employees of state-owned enterprises. Nonetheless, civil servants often engage in illegal work stoppages without experiencing reprisals. The ILO has reported that federations and confederations are prohibited from calling strikes, and that a two-thirds majority of the votes of the total membership of the trade union organization is required to call a strike; the ILO asserts that these requirements restrict freedom of association.

 

The public sector held pervasive and long-lasting strikes throughout the year. Both teachers and public health workers were on strike for more than 2 months demanding back pay, improved working conditions, and salary raises.

 

A number of private firms have instituted "solidarity" associations, essentially aimed at providing credit and other services to workers and managers who are members of the associations. Representatives of most organized labor groups criticize these associations, asserting that they do not permit strikes; have inadequate grievance procedures; are meant to displace genuine, independent trade unions; and are employer-dominated.

 

In March the Popular Bloc ("Bloque Popular"), a group of dissident members of some 40 labor, peasant, and social organizations held a number of demonstrations to bring the Government, the private sector, and organized labor to the bargaining table to negotiate increases in contributions to the social security system. In December a tripartite committee of government, labor, and employers was convened to begin negotiations over a new minimum wage.

 

The three national labor confederations maintain close ties with various international trade union organizations.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law protects the rights to organize and to bargain collectively. The Labor Code prohibits retribution by employers for trade union activity; however, it is a common occurrence. Some employers have threatened to close down unionized companies and have harassed workers seeking to unionize, in some cases dismissing them outright. Some foreign companies close operations when they are notified that workers seek union representation; two such cases occurred during the year. The labor courts routinely consider hundreds of appeals from workers seeking reinstatement and back wages from companies that fired them for engaging in union organizing activities. Once a union is recognized, employers actually dismiss relatively few workers for union activity. However, the right of collective bargaining is not granted easily, even once a union is recognized. Cases of firings and harassment serve to discourage workers elsewhere from attempting to organize.

 

Workers in both unionized and nonunionized companies are protected by the Labor Code, which gives them the right to seek redress from the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry of Labor applied the law in several cases, pressuring employers to observe the code. Labor or civil courts can require employers to rehire employees fired for union activity, but such rulings are uncommon. Collective bargaining agreements between management and unions generally contain a clause prohibiting retaliation against any worker who participates in a strike or other union activity.

 

The Labor Code explicitly prohibits blacklisting; however, there was credible evidence that informal blacklisting occurred in the privately owned industrial parks, known as maquiladoras. When a union is formed, its organizers must submit a list of initial members to the Ministry of Labor as part of the process of obtaining official recognition. However, before official recognition is granted, the Ministry of Labor must inform the company of the impending union organization. The Ministry of Labor has not always been able to provide effective protection to labor organizers. During the year the Ministry of Labor improved its administrative procedures to reduce unethical behavior of its officials regarding union organizing. There were fewer reports of inspectors selling the names of employees involved in forming a union to the management of the company compared with previous years.

 

The same labor regulations apply in the export processing zones (EPZ's) as in the rest of private industry. There are approximately 20 EPZ's. Each EPZ provides space for between 4 and 10 companies. There are approximately 200 export oriented assembly manufacturing firms located inside and outside of EPZ's. Unions represent workers in the factories located in the government-owned Puerto Cortes free trade zone (6 of 10 export assembly manufacturing firms, or maquiladoras, there are unionized); factory owners resist efforts to organize their companies in the privately owned industrial parks. The Honduran Association of Maquiladores (AHM) routinely sponsors seminars and other meetings between its members and major labor groups in order to reduce potential tensions within the industry. At year's end, 45 of the country's 200 maquiladoras were unionized.

 

In 1997 the AHM adopted a voluntary code of conduct governing salaries and working conditions in the industry and recognizing workers' right to organize. Members of AHM, both industrial park owners and company owners, are asked to sign the code of conduct to join the AHM; however, workers do not receive training on its provisions. The conditions are not monitored or verified by the AHM, but the AHM does act as arbiter when unions, the Ministry of Labor, or other partners complain about labor conditions in a factory. Workers are not trained on the elements of this code. The code provided a starting point for a dialog among the AHM, organized labor, and the Government, which formed a Tripartite Commission that meets on a regular basis to discuss and facilitate solutions for labor problems. The AHM often serves as an informal arbiter of labor disputes between its member companies and their workforces. The attitude of the Government toward organized labor in the EPZ's is the same as in other industries.

 

In the absence of unions and collective bargaining, the management of several plants in free trade zones have instituted solidarity associations that, to some extent, function as "company unions" for the purposes of setting wages and negotiating working conditions. Others use the minimum wage to set starting salaries and adjust wage scales by negotiating with common groups of plant workers and other employees, based on seniority, skills, categories of work, and other criteria.

 

Labor leaders accuse the Government of allowing private companies to act contrary to the Labor Code. They criticize the Ministry of Labor for not enforcing the Labor Code, for taking too long to make decisions, and for being timid and indifferent to workers' needs. Industry leaders, in turn, contend that the obsolete and cumbersome Labor Code discourages foreign investment and requires significant amendment. The Ministry of Labor sought to address these deficiencies by requesting increased funding in the Government's budget, by dismissing or transferring Ministry of Labor employees whose performance was unsatisfactory, by opening more regional offices to facilitate worker access to Ministry of Labor services, and by conducting a painstaking, ongoing review of the Labor Code. In September the Ministry of Labor opened a special maquiladora office and an office for female workers.

 

A 1995 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Labor and the Office of the United States Trade Representative calling for greater enforcement of the Labor Code has resulted in some progress. However, labor unions charge that the Ministry of Labor has not made sufficient progress toward enforcing the Code, especially in training its labor inspectors and in conducting inspections of the maquiladora industry. The Government has acknowledged that it does not yet adhere completely to international labor standards. In 1997 the country, in conjunction with other Central American nations, agreed to fund a regional program to modernize the inspection and labor management functions of all regional labor ministries. In August and September 2000, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to abide by the terms of the 1995 MOU and to take additional steps to strengthen enforcement of the Labor Code.

 

Union formation and contract negotiation can take an extremely long time. For example, in July 1999, workers at Yoo Yang, a South Korean-owned maquiladora, sought to establish a union for all maquiladora workers. In December 2000, the Ministry of Labor granted union status to Yoo Yang employees. During the year, management and workers were engaged in contract negotiations for 9 months, with the intervention of Ministry of Labor mediators. A contract was agreed to and signed in December. In June the ILO criticized the Government's restriction on workers' right to organize. The ILO noted that in this case there was a lack of evidence to make a judgement but stated that if the rejection of this request and delay of registration was based on formalities or if prohibitive administrative requirements were imposed, then the right to organized was violated.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution and the law prohibit forced or compulsory labor; however, there were credible allegations of compulsory overtime at maquiladora plants, particularly for women, who make up an estimated 80 percent of the work force in the maquiladora sector. The legal prohibitions apply equally to children; however, trafficking in children is a problem. Women are trafficked for sexual exploitation and debt bondage.

 

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

 

The Constitution and the Labor Code prohibit the employment of minors under the age of 16, except that a child who is 15 years of age is permitted to work with parental and Ministry of Labor permission; however, child labor is a problem. According to the Ministry of Labor, human rights groups, and children's rights organizations, an estimated 350,000 children work illegally. The Children's Code prohibits a child of 14 years of age or younger from working, even with parental permission, and establishes prison sentences of 3 to 5 years for individuals who allow children to work illegally. An employer who legally hires a 15-year-old must certify that the child has finished, or is finishing, his compulsory schooling. The Ministry of Labor grants a limited number of work permits to 15-year-old children each year.

 

The Ministry of Labor does not enforce effectively child labor laws outside the maquiladora sector. Violations of the Labor Code occur frequently in rural areas and in small companies. Significant child labor problems exist in family farming, agricultural export (including the melon and coffee industries), and small scale services and commerce. A May household survey reported that 9.2 percent of children between ages 5 and 15 were working, and that 26 percent of children ages 11 through 15 work. Many children also work in the construction industry, on family farms, as street vendors, or in small workshops to supplement the family income. Boys between the ages of 13 and 18 work on lobster boats, where they dive illegally with little safety or health protection. Children who work on melon farms were exposed to pesticides and long hours. Hurricane Mitch exacerbated existing child labor problems in every sector of the economy.

 

The employment of children under the legal working age in the maquiladora sector may occur, but not on a large scale. (Younger children sometimes obtain legitimate work permits by fraud or purchase forged permits.) During the year, one foreign firm in the maquiladora sector was reported to employ minors, and the Ministry of Labor took action to penalize the employer and assure that minors no longer work at the plant. The maquiladoras have raised their minimum employment age, and some hire only at age 18 or above, reducing the number of legal job opportunities available to persons under 18 years of age.

 

In 1998 the Government created the National Commission for the Gradual and Progressive Eradication of Child Labor, which includes government ministries, official family welfare agencies, and local NGO's. In May the Congress ratified the ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor, which became law a month later. In September the employers' association launched a campaign to raise awareness of the law among its members. In September the regional ILO Office on the Eradication of Child Labor director visited the country and met with the various groups and officials working on child labor to coordinate programs focused on the eradication of the worst forms of child labor.

 

Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited, including that performed by children; however, trafficking in children is a problem.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

Minimum wages that were established in 2000 and went into effect during the year apply to all sectors of the economy. Daily pay rates vary by geographic zone and the sector of the economy affected; urban workers earn slightly more than workers in the countryside. The lowest minimum wage occurs in the nonexport agricultural sector, where it ranges from $2.25 to $3.19 (35.00 to 49.50 lempiras) per day, depending on whether the employer has more than 15 employees. The highest minimum wage is $4.08 (63.30 lempiras) per day in the export sector. All workers are entitled to an additional month's salary in June and December of each year. The Constitution and the Labor Code stipulate that all labor must be paid fairly; however, the Ministry of Labor lacks the personnel and other resources for effective enforcement. The minimum wage is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living (above the poverty line) for a worker and family. In December a tripartite committee of government, labor, and employers was convened to begin negotiations over a new minimum wage.

 

Under the threat of a nationwide work stoppage by the country's three labor confederations (see Section 6.a.), in October 2000, the private sector agreed to a monthly wage increase of $23.33 (350 lempiras) for workers earning up to $116.60 (1,749 lempiras) per month. A monthly increase of $10 (150 lempiras) was retroactive to October 1, 2000, and an additional monthly increase of $13.33 (200 lempiras) took effect on February 1. This agreement excluded workers in the nonexport agricultural sector, who instead received a monthly wage increase of $10 (150 lempiras) as of February 1.

Under this agreement, workers earning between $140 (2,100 lempiras) and $400 (6,000 lempiras) per month received an additional wage increase of $23.33 (350 lempiras) as of April 1. This wage increase excluded: workers receiving a salary increase equivalent to, or greater than, $23.33 (350 lempiras) through either an individual contract or a collective bargaining agreement taking effect 3 months prior to April 1; those paid by piecework or based on productivity; microenterprises, agricultural firms, or ranches employing 15 or fewer workers; and workers in medicine or petroleum product sales whose profit margins are regulated by the Government.

 

This agreement also incorporated various social commitments by the Government, including the establishment of an Economic and Social Council within which the Government, the private sector, and labor and social groups would debate wages and other labor issues, as well as national social policy. During the year, the regulations for the Council were developed, and the regulations became law in December.

 

The law prescribes a maximum 8-hour workday and a 44-hour workweek. There is a requirement of at least one 24-hour rest period every 8 days. The Labor Code provides for a paid vacation of 10 workdays after 1 year, and of 20 workdays after 4 years. However, employers frequently ignored these regulations due to the high level of unemployment and underemployment and the lack of effective enforcement by the Ministry of Labor. Foreign workers enjoy equal protection under the law, although the process for a foreigner to obtain a work permit from the Ministry of Labor is cumbersome.

 

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing national health and safety laws, but does not do so consistently or effectively. During the year, the Ministry of Labor received technical assistance and equipment to improve its regulatory capacity. There are 16 health and safety inspectors throughout the country. The informal sector is regulated and monitored poorly. Worker safety standards also are poorly enforced in the construction industry. Some complaints alleged that foreign factory managers failed to comply with the occupational health and safety aspects of Labor Code regulations in factories located in the free-trade zones and in private industrial parks (see Section 6.b.). There is no provision allowing a worker to leave a dangerous work situation without jeopardy to continued employment.

 

Labor unions, women's groups, and human rights groups report receiving complaints from workers in textile export industries that include: illegal preemployment pregnancy tests, severely limited access to medical services, verbal abuse, no freedom to organize unions, forced and unpaid overtime. In September the Korean-owned company Dongwoo closed its business without warning days after receiving notification that workers had registered a union. The Ministry of Labor has increased its responsiveness to these complaints, according to the same organizations.

 

The Government and private sector participated in a regional program to improve occupational safety and health conditions throughout Central America. This program aimed to strengthen regional labor codes and the enforcement capabilities of the Central American labor ministries in these fields.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The Legal Code includes provisions that prohibit trafficking in persons; however, it is a problem. Honduras is primarily a source country for trafficked children to neighboring countries. According Casa Alianza, Honduran children, especially young girls, are trafficked by criminal groups to other Central American countries for purposes of sexual exploitation. Boys reportedly are trafficked to Canada for the purpose of drug trafficking. There are reports that trafficking in children also occurs within the country's borders. There have been reports in the past that girls have been trafficked to Guatemala and Mexico for purposes of prostitution. There also are reports that women who emigrate through Guatemala and Mexico have been found subject to sexual exploitation and debt bondage.

 

During the year, there were no reports of aliens smuggled to the United States involving the use of force or sequestration (holding persons incommunicado against their will). There were two cases of debt bondage reported in 2000, involving a total of seven persons.

 

Reports from Casa Alianza in 2000 asserted that approximately 250 Honduran children in Canada were coerced into prostitution or the sale of illicit narcotics. Honduran authorities did not repatriate any of the minors involved despite 2000 press reports that indicated the Government was taking action.

 

In February 2000, a judge in San Pedro Sula was charged for allegedly kidnaping six minors with intent to sell them to unknown persons; no action has been taken in this case. In July the Government announced that it was working with the Government of Mexico to repatriate over 200 Honduran minors working as prostitutes in southern Mexico. In 2000 a local children's rights group charged that 498 children had been reported missing from 1986 to 2000, including 22 children during the year. The group asserted that local kidnapers receive an average of $133 (2,000 lempiras) per child, each of whom subsequently is sold abroad for $10,000 to $15,000. No more information was available on this case at year's end. No cases of kidnaping were reported during the year.

 

The law prohibits trafficking in persons and provides for sentences of between 6 and 9 years imprisonment; the penalty is increased if the traffickers are government or public employees, or if the victim suffers "loss of liberty" or is killed. The Government and Justice Ministry, through its General Directorate for Population and Migration, is responsible for enforcing the country's immigration laws. However, corruption, a lack of resources, and weak police and court systems hinder law enforcement efforts. While traffickers have been arrested, the Government has not prosecuted any cases.

 

The Government does not provide economic aid to victims or potential victims of such crimes. However, in 2000 the Government inaugurated two centers in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula to assist citizens deported from other countries to relocate in Honduras. The centers' activities continued during the year, with the assistance of several international organizations.

 

HONDURAS - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

HONDURAS - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The law prescribes a maximum 8-hour workday and a 44-hour workweek. There is a requirement of at least one 24-hour rest period every 8 days.

 

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