Labor law in Eritrea

Labour Proclamation No. 118/2001 generally covers dependent work in private and public profit-making undertakings, including state-run projects. It does not provide the ordinary framework for the military, police, security services, the Eritrean Civil Services, judges, prosecutors or major managerial positions. Civil servants, domestic workers, national-service conscripts and many informal workers receive limited practical protection under the ordinary labor system. National service has a separate and highly significant status; international reporting describes indefinite, low-paid compulsory service and risks of forced labor. A person may seek work through the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare employment service, a private agency or an employer directly. Non-nationals need a work permit, which the Ministry may issue, renew, cancel or terminate. Employment below age 14 is prohibited. Workers aged 14 to 17 receive additional limits on working time, night work and hazardous duties. An employment contract lasting more than one year must generally be written and signed before two witnesses. It should state the duration, start date, work, workplace, wage or other remuneration, payment method and the parties’ rights and duties. Failing to provide the written form does not remove the employee’s rights. Statutory and collective terms that are more favorable to the employee become part of the employment relationship, while less favorable contractual clauses are void. Eritrean law recognizes indefinite contracts, definite-term contracts, definite piece-work contracts and intermittent work. Continuous work under a fixed-term arrangement can result in treatment as an indefinite employment relationship. Probation may last no more than 90 consecutive days; during probation, the employer may end the contract for lack of suitability without notice or severance. Employees must follow lawful instructions, attend work, protect the employer’s property and keep confidential information secret. Employers must respect dignity, provide tools and materials, maintain occupational safety, pay for required medical examinations, provide required training, keep employment records and issue an employment certificate. A transfer must not reduce the employee’s wage or position. Regular working time is limited to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. The same limits apply to shifts, and averaging over a period of up to four weeks cannot exceed those limits. A relaxation break counts as working time, while a meal break does not. Employees generally receive at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest within seven days, normally on Sunday, and public holidays are paid. Overtime of more than two hours requires the employee’s consent unless an accident, urgent work, force majeure or continuous work makes an exception applicable. Overtime is paid at 1.25 times the normal rate from 06:00 to 22:00, 1.5 times from 22:00 to 06:00, twice the normal rate during weekly rest and 2.5 times on a public holiday. Annual paid leave starts at 14 working days during the first year and increases by one working day for each additional year, up to 35 working days. Unused annual leave is paid when employment ends. After probation, sick leave can extend to six months within a twelve-month period; the first month is paid at 100 percent, the second at 50 percent and the third is unpaid, with the remaining period subject to the applicable rules. Paid maternity leave lasts 60 consecutive days. Pregnancy removes night-work and overtime duties, and a medically certified transfer must preserve the same wage; reinstatement follows where the transfer period ends. Termination during maternity leave or pregnancy-related sick leave is prohibited. Wages are mainly contractual. Eritrea has no evidenced national statutory minimum wage for the private sector, although a collective agreement within an undertaking can establish a wage floor. Equal starting pay applies to employees doing the same work. The agreed or customary payment date and place govern payment, but a delay should not exceed the next working day. Wage deductions are restricted. Reported wages in some government- and party-owned workplaces fall below poverty-line levels, which describes a practical condition rather than a general statutory wage scale. Women have equal opportunity and remuneration rights. Disability discrimination can be raised through a complaint to the Minister. Young employees aged 14 to 17 may work no more than seven hours per day, may not work from 18:00 to 06:00 and face restrictions on hazardous work. Employers have strict liability for compensation for employment injuries. Workers’ compensation insurance is compulsory in machinery, mining, quarrying, heavy transport, deforestation, construction and explosives work. The Labour Inspection Service can inspect workplaces, although published information reports weak enforcement, 28 inspectors in 2023 and no sanction power. Employees can form associations and bargain collectively. An undertaking generally needs at least 20 employees and 15 members for an association; small undertakings can form a general association with at least 20 members. Federations can form confederations. A registered collective agreement lasts from one to three years, applies to non-members as well as members and gives the more favorable term priority. Association leaders receive special protection, including reinstatement where dismissal resulted from union leadership. The formal right to strike or lock out is subject to legal conditions. In practice, independent unions are absent or restricted, the government-linked NCEW umbrella organization is the main formal option and collective bargaining is weak. Anti-union discrimination is prohibited, but remedies and enforcement are limited. Individual disputes can concern dismissal, termination, discipline, working time, wages, leave, employment certificates or workplace injury. Collective disputes can concern wages, benefits, new conditions, collective agreements, interpretation, promotion, transfer, training or workforce reduction. The usual process begins with workplace conciliation, followed where necessary by the Ministry’s Conciliation Branch, arbitration or a registered settlement. The Labour Relations Board handles collective disputes, unfair labor practices, appeals within its jurisdiction and dismissal of association leaders. The First Instance Labour Court handles individual labor disputes, employment injuries and labor offences. Appeals go to the Labour Division of the Zonal Court or High Court, depending on the matter. A court decision has a target of 30 days. A Labour Relations Board decision is due within 30 days, with a copy due within five days. Court decisions can generally be appealed to the Labour Division of the Zonal Court within 30 days. Legal appeals from Board decisions can reach the High Court within 30 days, while the Board’s factual findings are generally final. Employees and associations are exempt from court fees for labor claims, but no reliable general legal-cost tariff is evidenced. Claims under an employment contract generally have a one-year limitation period, interrupted by a complaint or proceeding before the competent authority. Execution uses the civil-court execution office. Employment may end through death, closure of the undertaking or employer, employee departure, expiry of a fixed term, fraud, theft, serious breach, crime, non-work illness lasting more than six months, incapacity or unreliability, redundancy caused by reduced work or new technology where transfer is unavailable, permanent closure or extended absence. A justified disciplinary termination requires a disclosed procedure, clear graded written warnings and supporting evidence. For unjustified termination, compensation is generally one day’s pay per month of service up to two years, one month’s pay per year after two years and no more than six months’ pay in total. Dismissal of an association leader because of leadership activity can require reinstatement. Notice is generally seven days for service below one year, 14 days for one to two years, 21 days for more than two to five years and 30 days after more than five years; payment instead of notice is allowed.