Employment
A 1972 labour code, with almost all work informal or remittance-supported
The Labour Code of 1972 remains nominally in force. Formal wage employment is very limited outside government, telecommunications, aid organisations and the ports, and enforcement institutions are minimal.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal Ministry of Labour with member state counterparts; effective inspection is largely absent.
Governing law
- Labour Code 1972
- Provisional Constitution 2012, Article 24 — labour rights
- Civil service legislation of the federal government and member states
In practice
The 1972 code provides for contracts, hours, leave and termination on a conventional model of its period, and the 2012 Provisional Constitution guarantees labour rights including union membership and prohibits forced labour and child labour. Neither describes the labour market. Most work is informal — pastoralism, trade, transport, construction — and household income depends heavily on diaspora remittances, which are estimated to exceed both aid and export earnings. Formal employment concentrates in the public payroll, telecommunications and money-transfer companies, port and airport operations, and international organisations, where terms are set by contract rather than by statutory floor. Child labour is widespread and the recruitment of children by armed groups is documented. There is no functioning labour inspectorate or labour court system of general reach, so the code cannot be treated as operative law.