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Rwanda - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Kigali

 

CLIMATE

Temperate climate; two rainy seasons (February to April, and November to January); mild climate in the mountains with frost and snow possible.

 

LANGUAGES

Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), and Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Rwanda’s legal system is based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law with judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court. Rwanda has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Rwandan Franc (1 USD = 459.7400 RWF as of March 31, 2002).

 

RWANDA - COST-OF-LIVING

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

 

RWANDA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Kigali

337 Boulevard de la Revolution

Kigali, Rwanda

B.P. 28

Kigali, Rwanda

Telephone: [250] 50 5601

Fax: [250] 57 2128

http://usembkigali.net

 

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

1714 New Hampshire Avenue N.W.

Washington D.C. 20009

Telephone: (202) 232-2882

Fax: (202) 232-4544

Email: rwandemb@rwandemb.org

http://www.rwandemb.org/

 

RWANDA - HOLIDAYS

 

RWANDA - MINIMUM AGE

Except for subsistence agriculture, the law prohibits children under the age of 18 from working without their parents' or guardians' permission, and they generally cannot work at night. The minimum age for full-time employment is 18 years, and 14 years for apprenticeships, providing that the child has completed primary school.

 

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

 

RWANDA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The Ministry of Public Service and Labor sets minimum wages in the small modern sector. The Government, the main employer, effectively sets most other wage rates as well. There is no single minimum wage; minimum wages vary according to the nature of the job.

 

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

 

RWANDA - REMUNERATION

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

 

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

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides the right to create professional associations and labor unions, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The labor movement has been hampered in practice because of the massive disruptions caused by the 1994 genocide. Unions have continued to regroup and assert themselves.

 

Union membership is voluntary and open to all salaried workers, including public sector employees. Organized labor represents only a small part of the work force. More than 90 percent of workers are engaged in small scale subsistence farming. Approximately 7 percent of the workforce work in the modern (wage) sector, and approximately 75 percent of those active in the modern sector are union members.

 

There are no restrictions on the right of association, but all unions must register with the Ministry of Justice for official recognition. There are no known cases in which the Government has denied recognition. The law prohibits unions from having political affiliations, but in practice this is not always respected.

 

Until 1991 the Central Union of Rwandan Workers (CESTRAR) was the only authorized trade union organization. With the political reforms introduced in the 1991 Constitution, the CESTRAR officially became independent of the Government. There are 27 registered unions under 2 umbrella groups: 17 are under CESTRAR, and 10 are under the National Council of Free Unions in Rwanda (COSYLI).

 

The Constitution provides for the right to strike, except for public service workers. A union's executive committee must approve any strike, and the union must first try to resolve its differences with management according to steps prescribed by the Ministry of Public Service and Labor. Unlike in the previous year, there were no demonstrations by union members.

 

Labor organizations may affiliate with international labor bodies. The CESTRAR is affiliated with the Organization of Africa Trade Union Unity and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law protects workers from employer interference in their right to organize and administer unions. The Constitution provides for collective bargaining, although only the CESTRAR has an established collective bargaining agreement with the Government. In practice the Government is involved intimately in the collective bargaining process since most union members are in the public sector (see Section 6.e.). The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, but no formal mechanisms exist to resolve complaints involving discrimination against unions. Union activists have complained that some employers threaten to fire employees who attempt to join a union.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, prisoners are assigned to work details, which generally involve rebuilding houses, clearing land, or other public maintenance duties. Prisoners also may be hired out to perform work at private residences and businesses. It was unclear how much pay the prisoners were given in return for their work. In April there were unconfirmed reports that the Government used prisoners as forced labor to mine Columbo-tantalite (Coltan) in the DRC.

 

The law does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children; however, there were no reports that such practices occur.

 

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

 

Except for subsistence agriculture, the law prohibits children under the age of 18 from working without their parents' or guardians' permission, and they generally cannot work at night. The minimum age for full-time employment is 18 years, and 14 years for apprenticeships, providing that the child has completed primary school. The Ministry of Public Service and Labor and the Ministry of Local Government did not enforce child labor laws effectively, in part due to the large number of households headed by children. In 2000 the Ministry of Public Service and Labor and the Ministry of Local Government and Social Affairs, in collaboration with UNICEF, announced a national program aimed at educating children about their rights. The program has been implemented, but no information was available by year's end on the program's effectiveness. It is rare to see child labor outside the agricultural sector. The Government ratified the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor during the year.

 

The law does not prohibit specifically forced and bonded labor by children; however, such practices are not known to occur.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Ministry of Public Service and Labor sets minimum wages in the small modern sector. The Government, the main employer, effectively sets most other wage rates as well. There is no single minimum wage; minimum wages vary according to the nature of the job. The minimum wages paid are insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, and in practice, workers accepted less than the minimum wage. Often families supplement their incomes by working in small business or subsistence agriculture.

 

Officially, government offices and private sector entities have a 40-hour workweek; the maximum workweek is 45 hours. There is no mandated rest period. The law controls hours of work and occupational health and safety standards in the modern wage sector, but inspectors from the Ministry of Public Service did not enforce these standards aggressively. Workers do not have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their jobs.

 

The law provides for equal protection of foreign workers.

 

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.

 

RWANDA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

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

 

RWANDA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

Officially, government offices and private sector entities have a 40-hour workweek; the maximum workweek is 45 hours. There is no mandated rest period.

 

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