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St Lucia - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Castries

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate, moderated by northeast trade winds with a dry season from January to April, and rainy season from May to August.

 

LANGUAGES

English (official), and French patois.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Saint Lucia’s legal system is based on English common law.

 

CURRENCY

East Caribbean Dollar (1 USD = 2.67000 XCD as of May 15, 2002).

 

ST LUCIA - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

ST LUCIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

The United States does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia. The US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia.

 

U.S. Embassy at Bridgetown (Barbados)

The American Life Insurance Co. (ALICO) Building

P.O. Box 302

Bridgetown, Barbados

West Indies

Telephone: [246] 436-4950

Fax: [246] 429-5246

http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/bb1/wwwhmain.html

 

Embassy of Saint Lucia at Washington D.C.

3216 New Mexico Avenue N.W.

Washington D.C. 20016

Telephone: (202) 364-6792

Fax: (202) 364-6728

 

ST LUCIA - HOLIDAYS

 

ST LUCIA - MINIMUM AGE

Minors are protected legally from economic exploitation by several legislative acts, including the Children and Young Persons Act, which provides for a minimum legal working age of 14 years. The minimum legal working age for industrial work is 18 years.

 

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

 

ST LUCIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The Wages Regulations (Clerks) Orders, in effect since 1985, set out minimum wage rates only for clerks. These office workers receive a legislated minimum wage of $800 per month (approximately $300 EC).

 

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

 

ST LUCIA - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution specifies the right of workers to form or belong to trade unions under the broader rubric of the right of association. Most public sector employees are unionized; about 20 percent of the total work force is unionized. Unions are independent of government and are free to choose their own representatives in often vigorously contested elections. There are no restrictions on the formation of national labor federations. Several of the major unions belong to an umbrella grouping called the Industrial Solidarity Pact.

 

Strikes in both the public and private sectors are legal, but there are many avenues through collective bargaining agreements and government procedures that may preclude a strike. The law prohibits members of the police and fire departments from striking. Other "essential services" workers--water and sewer authority workers, electric utility workers, nurses, and doctors--must give 30 days' notice before striking.

 

Unions are free to affiliate with international organizations, and some have done so.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Unions have the legal right to engage in collective bargaining, and they fully exercise this right in practice. The Registration of Trade Unions and Employer Organizations Act is viewed widely as prounion, and since it entered into effect in January 2000, it has resulted in increased organizational activity by unions. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers, and there are effective mechanisms for resolving complaints. It also requires that employers reinstate workers fired for union activities.

 

Labor law is applicable in the export processing zones (EPZ's), and there are no administrative or legal impediments to union organizing or collective bargaining in those zones. Although many firms resist union efforts to organize in the EPZ's, the new law appeared to have a positive influence on organizing efforts.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Government prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and it is not known to occur. While there is no specific prohibition of forced or bonded labor by children, there were no reports of such practices.

 

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

 

Minors are protected legally from economic exploitation by several legislative acts, including the Children and Young Persons Act, which provides for a minimum legal working age of 14 years. The minimum legal working age for industrial work is 18 years. Child labor exists to some degree in the rural areas, primarily where larger, stronger, school-age children help harvest family banana trees. Children also typically work in urban food stalls or sell confectionery on sidewalks. However, these activities occur on nonschool days and during festivals. The Department of Labor of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Home Affairs, and Labor is responsible for enforcing statutes regulating child labor. Penalties for violating child labor laws include fines up to $75 (EC$200) and prison terms up to 3 months. There were no formal reports of violations of child labor laws. In December 2000, the Government ratified the International Labor Organization's Convention 182 on elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The Government does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children, but such practices are not known to occur (see Section 6.c.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Wages Regulations (Clerks) Orders, in effect since 1985, set out minimum wage rates only for clerks. These office workers receive a legislated minimum wage of about $300 (EC $800) per month. The minimum wage is not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, but some categories of workers receive more than the legal minimum for clerks, which is used only as a guide for setting pay for other professions.

 

There is no legislated workweek, although the common practice is to work 40 hours in 5 days. Special legislation covers hours that shop assistants, agricultural workers, domestics, and persons in industrial establishments may work.

 

Occupational health and safety regulations are relatively well developed; however, there is only one qualified inspector for the entire country. Therefore, Ministry of Labor inspections of health and safety conditions at places of employment (under the Employee's Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1985) are infrequent, at best. The Ministry enforces the act through threat of closure of the business if it discovers violations and the violator does not correct them. However, actual closures rarely occur because of lack of staff and resources. Workers are free to leave a dangerous workplace situation without jeopardy to continued employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

There are no laws that specifically address trafficking in persons. There were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

 

ST LUCIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

ST LUCIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

There is no legislated workweek, although the common practice is to work 40 hours in 5 days.

 

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