Employment
The Labour Act 2017, applying to a very small formal sector
The Labour Act 2017 replaced transitional arrangements, setting minimum conditions, leave and termination rules. Formal wage employment is a small share of work, concentrated in government, oil and aid organisations.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, under the Ministry of Labour; disputes go to labour tribunals and the courts.
Governing law
- Labour Act 2017
- Civil Service Act 2011
- Workers' Trade Union Act 2013
In practice
The 2017 Act is a modern statute providing written contracts, a 40-hour standard week, annual and maternity leave, and protection against unfair dismissal, and it explicitly prohibits forced labour and the worst forms of child labour. Its reach is the issue: the formal labour market is dominated by the public payroll, the oil sector and international organisations, while most economic activity is subsistence agriculture, pastoralism and informal trade to which the Act has little practical application. Public sector salary arrears have been a chronic problem tied to oil revenue disruption, and that is the dominant labour issue in the country rather than any question of statutory interpretation. Union organisation exists formally under the 2013 Act. Enforcement capacity through labour inspection is minimal, so this entry does not assert an operating compliance regime.