Employment
The 2006 Labour Code, contested at the ILO over freedom of association
The Code du Travail 2006 governs contracts, dismissal and collective relations. It liberalised termination relative to the previous code, and its trade-union provisions have been the subject of sustained ILO supervisory criticism.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National. The Inspection du Travail supervises; the Tribunal du Travail hears individual and collective disputes.
Governing law
- Loi 133/AN/05 portant Code du Travail
- Loi 212/AN/07 on social security
- Décrets on the minimum wage and sectoral collective agreements
In practice
The 2006 code made dismissal easier than under its predecessor, which was its principal purpose and the reason it was contested domestically. The recurring international issue has been freedom of association: ILO supervisory bodies have repeatedly examined the treatment of independent unions in Djibouti, including the recognition of leadership and interference in union elections, so the position on paper and the position in the ILO record diverge and a summary that cites only the code would mislead. The statutory minimum wage in the private sector was effectively removed for new sectors by the 2006 reform, with wages set by collective agreement or contract instead, though public-sector and some sectoral minima persist. Social security runs through the Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale, covering pensions, occupational injury and family benefits for formally employed workers, who are a minority of the workforce.