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Togo - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Lomé

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate; hot and humid in the south and semiarid in the north.

 

LANGUAGES

French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Togo’s legal system is a French-based court system.

 

CURRENCY

Communaute Financiere Africaine Franc (1 USD = 696.260 XOF as of June 1, 2002).

Note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States.

 

TOGO - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

TOGO - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Lomé

Angle Rue Kouenou et Rue 15 Béniglato

B.P. 852

Lomé, Togo

Telephone: [228] 221-29-91

Fax: [228] 221-79-52

http://usembassy.state.gov/togo/

 

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

2208 Massachusetts Avenue N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 234-4212

Fax: (202) 232-3190

 

TOGO - HOLIDAYS

 

TOGO - LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum 30 days each year.

 

Maternity Leave: 14 weeks – 100% of pay (50% employer, 50% social security).

 

TOGO - MINIMUM AGE

The Labor Code prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 in any enterprise. Some types of industrial and technical employment set a minimum age of 18. In both urban and rural areas, particularly in farming and petty trading, very young children traditionally assist in their families' work.

 

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

 

TOGO - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The Government sets minimum wages for different categories, ranging from unskilled labor through professional positions. Less than the official minimum wage often is paid in practice, mostly to unskilled workers. Official monthly minimum wages range from 14,700 to 23,100 CFA francs per month (approximately $20 to $33). The Labor Code, which regulates labor practices, requires equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex.

 

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

 

TOGO - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides most workers with the right to join unions and the right to strike; however, security forces, including firefighters and police, do not have these rights; government health care workers may join unions but may not strike. The Constitution also prohibits discrimination against workers for reasons of sex, origin, beliefs, or opinions. The work force in the formal sector is small, involving approximately 20 percent of the total work force of whom from 60 to 70 percent are union members or supporters. The World Bank estimates that the country's total workforce was approximately 2 million persons.

 

There are several major trade union federations. These include the National Confederation of Togolese Workers (CNTT)--which is closely associated with the Government, the Labor Federation of Togolese Workers (CSTT), the National Union of Independent Syndicates (UNSIT), and the Union of Free Trade Unions.

 

There is no specific law prohibiting retribution against strikers by employers.

 

Unlike in the previous year, the Government did not arrest any union officials. Air Afrique workers held a strike at Lome's airport during the year.

 

Federations and unions are free to associate with international labor groups. The CNTT and the UNSIT are affiliates of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The CSTT is an affiliate of the World Confederation of Labor.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Labor Code nominally provides workers with the right to organize and bargain collectively; however, the Government limits collective bargaining to producing a single nationwide agreement that must be negotiated and endorsed by representatives of the Government as well as of labor unions and employers. All formal sector employees are covered by the collective bargaining agreement. This agreement sets nationwide wage standards for all formal sector employees. The Government participates in this process both as a labor-management mediator and as the largest employer in the formal sector, managing numerous state-owned firms that monopolize many sectors of the formal economy. Individual groups in the formal sector can attempt to negotiate agreements more favorable to labor through sector-specific or firm-specific collective bargaining, but this option rarely is used.

 

The Labor Code prohibits antiunion discrimination. The Ministry of Labor is charged with resolving labor-related complaints, but it does not always do so effectively.

 

The law allows the establishment of export processing zones (EPZ's). Many companies have EPZ status, and more than 30 are in operation. The EPZ law provides exemptions from some provisions of the Labor Code, notably the regulations on hiring and firing. Employees of EPZ firms do not enjoy the same protection against antiunion discrimination as do other workers. In practice unions do not have free access to EPZ's or the freedom to organize workers. The 1974 Labor Code prohibits foreign nationals from performing administrative or management functions in trade unions.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports of forced labor involving adults. The law does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children, and children sometimes are subjected to forced labor, primarily as domestic servants. In 1998 the Government acknowledged the existence of international trafficking in children, particularly girls, who are sold into various forms of indentured and exploitative servitude, which amounts at times to slavery. During the year, the issue received national attention due to several high profile cases and the Government's commitment to address the problem (see Sections 6.d. and 6.f.). There also is some trafficking in young women for the purpose of prostitution or for labor as domestic servants (see Sections 6.d. and 6.f.).

 

In rural areas, parents sometimes place young children into domestic work in other households in exchange for one time fees as low as $25 to $35 (15,000 to 20,000 CFA francs).

 

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

 

The Labor Code prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 in any enterprise. Some types of industrial and technical employment set a minimum age of 18. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor enforce these age requirements but only in the formal sector in urban areas. In both urban and rural areas, particularly in farming and petty trading, very young children traditionally assist in their families' work.

 

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Promotion of Women, and Protection of Children is responsible for enforcing the prohibition of the worst forms of child labor; however, few resources were allotted for its implementation and enforcement was weak.

 

The law does not prohibit forced and bonded labor by children, and children are trafficked for labor (see Sections 6.c. and 6.f.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Government sets minimum wages for different categories, ranging from unskilled labor through professional positions. Less than the official minimum wage often is paid in practice, mostly to unskilled workers. Official monthly minimum wages range from approximately $20 to $33 (14,700 to 23,100 CFA francs) per month. The minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their families, and many workers must supplement their incomes through second jobs or subsistence farming. The Ministry of Labor ostensibly is responsible for enforcement of the minimum wage system but does not enforce the law in practice. The Labor Code, which regulates labor practices, requires equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex; however, this provision generally is observed only in the formal sector.

 

Teachers' salaries and students' stipends rarely are paid on time (see Section 2.a.). Unlike in the previous year, there were no teacher or student strikes; however, in May students boycotted classes (see Section 2.a.).

 

Working hours of all employees in any enterprise, except for those in the agricultural sector, normally must not exceed 72 hours per week; at least one 24-hour rest period per week is compulsory, and workers must receive 30 days of paid leave each year. The law requires overtime compensation, and there are restrictions on excessive overtime work. However, the Ministry of Labor's enforcement is weak, and employers often ignore these provisions.

 

A technical consulting committee in the Ministry of Labor sets workplace health and safety standards. It may levy penalties on employers who do not meet the standards, and employees ostensibly have the right to complain to labor inspectors of unhealthy or unsafe conditions without penalty. In practice the Ministry's enforcement of the various provisions of the Labor Code is limited. Large enterprises are obliged by law to provide medical services for their employees and usually attempt to respect occupational health and safety rules, but smaller firms often do not.

 

Workers have the legal right to remove themselves from unsafe conditions without fear of losing their jobs; however, in practice some cannot do so.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law does not prohibit specifically trafficking in persons, although other statutes against kidnaping, procuring, and other crimes linked to trafficking were used to prosecute traffickers, and trafficking was a problem. The country remained a country of origin and transit point for trafficking in persons, primarily children. The country was a transit point for children trafficked from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Nigeria. Trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution or nonconsensual labor as domestic servants exists. There were 83 victims returned to the country during the year.

 

Traffickers are believed to be men and women of Togolese, Beninese, and Nigerian nationalities.

 

The Government has little or no funding to investigate traffickers or trafficking rings. The Government claimed to have arrested or detained 10 traffickers during the year. The Government also reported that it detained briefly 55 parents of the children stranded in Cameroon when the boat that was trafficking them to Gabon capsized. Most persons arrested or detained by security forces for alleged trafficking ultimately were released for lack of evidence. However, as of March, the Government had prosecuted 50 cases against individual traffickers. These resulted in 51 convictions, which included prison sentences of 6 years, 4 years, 12 months, 8 months, 6

 

TOGO - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

TOGO - STANDARD WORKWEEK

Working hours of all employees in any enterprise, except for those in the agricultural sector, normally must not exceed 72 hours per week; at least one 24-hour rest period per week is compulsory, and workers must receive 30 days of paid leave each year. The law requires overtime compensation, and there are restrictions on excessive overtime work.

 

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