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Solomon Islands - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Honiara

 

CLIMATE

Tropical monsoon climate; few extremes of temperature and weather.

 

LANGUAGES

Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca. English spoken by 1%-2% of population.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

The legal system of the Solomon Islands is English common law.

 

CURRENCY

Solomon Islands Dollar (1 USD = 6.28931 SBD as of May 15, 2002).

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

The US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (the embassy closed in July 1993). However, there is a U.S. Consular Agency in Honiara. The Consular Agent, who has general information and forms (such as passport applications for forwarding to Port Moresby) and may be contacted at B.J.S. Agencies Limited in Honiara, Tel (677) 23426; Fax (677) 21-027. The ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands

 

U.S. Embassy at Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)

Douglas Street

P.O. Box 1492

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Telephone: [675] 321-1455

Fax: [675] 321-1593

 

Embassy of the Solomon Islands - Chancery

800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L

New York, NY 10017

(212-599-6192/93)

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - HOLIDAYS

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS – LEAVE

Annual Leave: Solomon Islands law regulates the right to paid annual leave.

 

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 25% of pay (paid by employer).

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - MINIMUM AGE

The law forbids labor by children under the age of 12, except light agricultural or domestic work performed in the company of parents. Children under age 15 are barred from work in industry or on ships; those under age 18 may not work underground or in mines.

 

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

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The minimum wage rate is 1.50 Solomon Islands dollars per hour (approximately $0.31) for all workers except those in the fishing and agricultural sectors, who receive 1.25 Solomon Islands dollars ($0.25).

 

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

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution implicitly recognizes the right of workers to form or join unions, to choose their own representatives, to determine and pursue their own views and policies, and to engage in political activities. The courts have confirmed these rights. Only about 10 to 15 percent of the population participate in the formal sector of the economy. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of wage earners are organized (90 percent of employees in the public sector and about 50 percent of those in the private sector).

 

The law permits strikes; however, there were no significant strikes or labor actions during the year. Disputes usually are referred quickly to the Trade Disputes Panel (TDP) for arbitration, either before or during a strike. In practice the small percentage of the work force in formal employment means that employers have ample replacement workers if disputes are not resolved quickly. However, employees are protected from arbitrary dismissal or lockout while the TDP is deliberating. Since 1998 ethnic tensions and conflict on Guadalcanal, the most economically developed island in the country, seriously have disrupted economic activity and have resulted in the loss of many formal employment opportunities. Mainstays of the cash economy such as the Solomon Taiyo fish cannery and the country's only gold mine closed as a result of the conflict and remained closed during the year. In June 1999, Solomon Islands Plantation Ltd. closed its facilities following attacks on its workers. About 2,000 employees were evacuated. During the year, Guadalcanal militants prevented the return of the work force, 60 percent of whom are Malaitan.

 

Unions are free to affiliate internationally, and the largest trade union, the Solomon Islands' National Union of Workers, is affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions, the South Pacific Oceanic Council of Trade Unions, and the Commonwealth Trade Union Congress.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law provides for the rights to organize and to bargain collectively, and unions exercise these rights frequently.

 

Wages and conditions of employment are determined by collective bargaining. If a dispute between labor and management cannot be settled between the two sides, it is referred to the TDP for arbitration. The three-member TDP, composed of a chairman appointed by the judiciary, a labor representative, and a business representative, is independent and neutral.

 

The law protects workers against antiunion activity, and there are no areas where union activity is officially discouraged.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced labor, including forced and bonded labor by children, and, except as part of a court sentence or order, there were no reports that such practices occurred.

 

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

 

The law forbids labor by children under the age of 12, except light agricultural or domestic work performed in the company of parents. Children under age 15 are barred from work in industry or on ships; those under age 18 may not work underground or in mines. The Labor Division of the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry is responsible for enforcing child labor laws. Given low wages and high unemployment, there is little incentive to employ child labor.

 

The Government has not ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor. It does not have a comprehensive policy for the elimination of such abuses; there are no regulations defining the worst forms of child labor.

 

The Government prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and such practices are not known to occur (see Section 6.c.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The minimum wage rate is $0.31 per hour (1.50 Solomon Islands dollars) for all workers except those in the fishing and agricultural sectors, who receive $0.25 (1.25 Solomon Islands dollars). The legal minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for an urban family living entirely on the cash economy. However, most families are not dependent solely on wages for their livelihoods.

 

The law regulates premium pay, sick leave, the right to paid vacations, and other conditions of service. The standard workweek is 45 hours and is limited to 6 days per week. There are provisions for premium pay for overtime and holiday work and for maternity leave.

 

Both an active labor movement and an independent judiciary provide widespread enforcement of labor laws in major state and private enterprises. The Commissioner of Labor, the Public Prosecutor, and the police are responsible for enforcing labor laws; however, they usually react to complaints rather than routinely monitor adherence to the law. Their efforts have been restricted severely by the conflict and ensuing political instability. The extent to which the law is enforced in smaller establishments and in the subsistence sector is unclear. Safety and health laws appear to be adequate. The Safety at Work Act requires employers to provide a safe working environment and forbids retribution against an employee who seeks protection under labor regulations or removes himself from a hazardous job site.

 

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.

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The standard workweek is 45 hours and is limited to 6 days per week. There are provisions for premium pay for overtime and holiday work and for maternity leave. The law regulates premium pay, sick leave, the right to paid vacations, and other conditions of service.

 

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