Labor in Guinea is ample but not well trained. Literacy levels are under 30 percent, and educational standards are very low. With the exception of Guineans involved in donor training programs and those with the means to study overseas, few have exposure to Western business and economic principles, Productivity levels tend to be very low, and Guinea has a critical shortage of skilled managers and administrators with private sector experience.
Guinea has a strict Labor Code protecting the rights of Guinean employees, and a strict enforcing agent in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The 1986 Labor Code, which is in compliance with the conventions and recommendations of the International Labor Organization, provides for tight control of labor practices and regulates recruitment, contracts, the employment of women and children, and general working conditions. Strict labor laws can make termination of employees difficult. Prior to the implementation of the current Labor Code in 1986, all labor was legally required to be contracted through the Office National de l'Emploi et de la Main d'Oeuvre (ONEMO).
The Labor Code sets forth guidelines in various sectors, but most strictly in mining, where the largest foreign companies ~perate. Guides include wages, holidays and work schedules, overtime pay, vacation, and sick leave. The maximum work day is 8 hours and the work week 48 hours. A minimum rest period of 24 hours must be provided weekly to all employees. The code also provides for equal pay for equal work without regard to origin, sex, or age.
Medical and accident expenses must be covered by employers. Larger firms are required to have medical staff and facilities on site, with the requirements increasing with the number of employees. Employers are obliged to pay family allowances calculated on the number of children, and paid holidays and annual vacations, with the length of the latter dependent upon years of service. In addition, employers must provide daily transportation for their workere or pay ~n allowance in areas served by public transportation.
On the average, employers are responsible for ahout 14 peroent of the value of the employees' salary for Social Security, with an employee contribution of 3.2 percent. Employers are also responsible for withholding between 10 and 30 percent of the employee's salary for income taxes. The labor code outlines general guidelines related to health and safety, but the GOG has not yet articulated a set of practical occupational standards. Government resources for thim activity are relatively weak.
The Labor Code legalizes employee labor unions and the right to collective bargaining. Until 1988 the only legal trade union was the state-funded National Confederation of Guinean Workers (CNTG). In the past few years there has been a rise in the number of free trade unions, paralleling the introduction of pluralism in politics. In l993 and 1994, workers demanding wage and benefit improvements organized brief strikes in the banking sector, the national electricity company, the state-owned bauxite mine, and the private bottling factory.
The overall relationship between employers and employees is governed by the Labor Code. Labor Management relations can vary from smooth to difficult. Employers' rights to hire and fire are less clearly defined. Many cases of termination result in adjudication in the Guinean Court system, generally to the disadvantage of the employer. Given the difficulty of terminating an employee, incidence of theft and low produotivity are factors cited as major problems by many foreign managers in Guinea.
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