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Liberia - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Monrovia

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; hot and humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers.

 

LANGUAGES

English 20% (official), and some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Liberia’s legal system is a dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for the indigenous sector.

 

CURRENCY

Liberian Dollar (1 USD = 0.99500 LRD as of May 1, 2002).

 

LIBERIA - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

LIBERIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Monrovia

111 United Nations Drive

Mamba Point

1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

P.O. Box 10-0098

1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

Telephone: [231] 226-370

Fax: [231] 226-148

http://usembassy.state.gov/monrovia/

 

Embassy of the Republic of Liberia at Washington D.C.

5201 16th Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20011

Telephone: (202) 723-0437

Fax: (202) 723-0436

Email: info@liberiaemb.org

http://www.liberiaemb.org/

 

LIBERIA - HOLIDAYS

 

LIBERIA - MINIMUM AGE

The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 during school hours in the wage sector.

 

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

 

LIBERIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The law requires a minimum wage of 10 ld (approximately $0.25) per hour not exceeding 8 hours per day, excluding benefits, for unskilled laborers. The law requires that agricultural workers be paid 60 ld ($1.50) for an 8-hour day, excluding benefits. Skilled labor has no minimum fixed wage, but industrial workers usually received three or four times the wage paid to agricultural workers.

 

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

 

LIBERIA - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides that workers, except members of the military and police, have the right to associate in trade unions, and workers are allowed to join unions in practice. The Constitution also provides that unions are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity. However, government interference in union activities, especially union elections and leaderships struggles, was common both before and during the civil war.

 

Although most economic activity was interrupted by the war, unions proliferated. There are approximately 30 functioning unions organized loosely under two umbrella groups--the Federation of Liberian Trade Unions and the Congress of Liberian Trade Unions--with the common objective of protecting the rights of their 60,000 members, who largely were unemployed. The actual power that the unions exercise was extremely limited. Since the country's work force is largely illiterate, economic activities beyond the subsistence level were very limited, and the labor laws tend to favor management.

 

During the year, the Government strictly enforced the union registration requirements that fell into disuse during the war.

 

Labor laws provide for the right to strike. A decree passed by the People's Redemption Council in 1984 outlawed strikes, but it was not enforced during the year. Due to the destruction of the economy and the estimated 85 percent unemployment rate, strikes were infrequent.

 

On January 29 in Monrovia, taxi and commercial drivers staged a peaceful 1-day strike to protest rising gasoline prices.

 

Labor unions traditionally have been affiliated with international labor groups such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

With the exception of civil servants, workers (including employees of public corporations and autonomous agencies) have the right to organize and bargain collectively. In the past, agreements were negotiated freely between workers and their employers without government interference; however, these rights were largely moot during the year because of the lack of economic activity.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, this prohibition was ignored widely in many parts of the country, such as rural areas where farmers were pressured into providing free labor on "community projects" that often benefited only local leaders. There were allegations that large logging companies in the southeast forcibly recruited workers. There also were reports that local officials forced convicted prisoners to work for them. There were reports during the year that local government officials forced persons to work without compensation on President Taylor's farm.

 

The Constitution prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, there were reports that it occurred (see Section 5). Some former combatants, including some in the security forces, were accused of forcing children to work in the mining industry. In 1999 a child rights advocacy group released a report on forced child labor in the southeastern counties. The advocacy group's report and that of another prominent human rights group contradicted an earlier government report that failed to find any conclusive evidence of forced child labor. Subsequently legislators from three counties sued the child rights advocacy group for defaming the counties' reputations. At year's end, the case still was pending.

 

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

 

The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 during school hours in the wage sector, but enforcement traditionally is lax. The Ministry of Labor did not make any inspections during the year and lacks the resources to carry out its mandate. Throughout rural areas--particularly where there were no schools--small children continued to assist their parents as vendors in local markets or on the streets, to take care of younger brothers and sisters, and to work on family subsistence farms.

 

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

 

The Constitution prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, there were reports that it occurred.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The law provides for a minimum wage, paid leave, severance benefits, and safety standards, but enforcement was targeted solely against profitable firms that generally observed these standards. Due to the country's continued economic problems, most citizens were forced to accept any work they could find regardless of wages or working conditions. The Ministry of Labor did not have the resources to monitor compliance with labor laws.

 

The law requires a minimum wage of approximately $0.25 (10 ld) per hour not exceeding 8 hours per day, excluding benefits, for unskilled laborers. The law requires that agricultural workers be paid $1.50 (60 ld) for an 8-hour day, excluding benefits. Skilled labor has no minimum fixed wage, but industrial workers usually received three or four times the wage paid to agricultural workers. The much-sought-after minimum wage jobs provided a minimal standard of living for a worker and family; however, there were very few such jobs. Families dependent on minimum wage incomes also engage in subsistence farming, small-scale marketing, petty extortion, and begging. By mid-year the Government owed civil servants 9 months worth of salary arrears; however, in June the Ministry of Finance began paying the arrears.

 

The law provides for a 48-hour, 6-day regular workweek with a 30-minute rest period per 5 hours of work. The 6-day workweek may extend to 56 hours for service occupations and to 72 hours for miners, with overtime pay beyond 48 hours.

 

There are government-established health and safety standards, enforced in theory by the Ministry of Labor. Even under the law, workers do not have a specific right to remove themselves from dangerous situations without risking loss of employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons; however, there were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

 

 

LIBERIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

LIBERIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The law provides for a 48-hour, 6-day regular workweek with a 30-minute rest period per 5 hours of work. The 6-day workweek may extend to 56 hours for service occupations and to 72 hours for miners, with overtime pay beyond 48 hours.

 

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