Work and Wages

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in the Central African Republic is governed by the Labour Code.

Under the Labour Code, there are two minimum wages in the Central African Republic: the SMIG (Salaires Minima Interprofessionnels Garantis) and the SMAG (Salaires Minima Agricoles Garantis). No adjustment has yet taken place since 1991.

The level of the SMIG and the SMAG is set by orders of the Minister of Labour, issued after consultation of the National Permanent Labour Council.

In addition, in the absence of collective agreements or in the absence of such agreements, decrees of the Minister in charge of Labour, issued after the opinion of the Permanent National Labour Council, set - the corresponding minimum wages by professional category - the minimum rates for overtime and night work or work on non-working days - the methods for awarding seniority and attendance bonuses.

With a view to setting the minimum wage, the National Permanent Labour Council, at the request of the Minister in charge of labour, assesses the elements that may serve as a basis for determining the minimum wage, the study of the subsistence minimum and economic conditions.

The law also provides for financial penalties of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 CFA francs for those who violate the provisions relating to minimum wages, as well as for those who violate the provisions of the order of the Minister in charge of Labour fixing the level of guaranteed inter-professional minimum wages and guaranteed agricultural minimum wages (SMIG-SMAG).

Sources: Articles 226-227 & 389 of the Labour Code, 2009; Art. 3 of Decree No. 07.177 of 18 June 2007 on the organisation and functioning of the National Permanent Labour Council

For updated minimum wage rates, please refer to the section on minimum wage.

Regular Pay

According to the Labour Code, wages are the consideration for the work done. It is composed of basic salary and all other benefits paid directly or indirectly in cash or in kind by the employer to the workers.

As for the method of payment, the law requires the payment of wages in legal tender notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary and prohibits the payment of all or part of the wages in alcohol or alcoholic beverages.

The prohibition also applies to the payment of all or part of the wage in kind.

In principle, except in cases of force majeure, wages are paid at the place and during working hours. In no case may it be paid in a drinking establishment or sales shop, except for workers who are normally employed there.

Thus, except for occupations for which established practices provide for a different payment period and which are determined by an order issued by the Minister in charge of labour, after the opinion of the National Permanent Labour Council, wages must be paid at regular intervals which may not exceed fifteen (15) days for workers hired on a daily or weekly basis and thirty (30) days for workers hired on a fortnightly or monthly basis.

Monthly payments shall be made no later than five (5) days after the end of the working month which gives rise to the right to wages.

In the case of workers whose remuneration is calculated on the basis of piecework or on the basis of performance, and whose work is to be carried out over more than a fortnight, the worker shall receive fortnightly instalments corresponding to at least thirty per cent (30%) of the minimum wage, and shall be paid in full within the fortnight following the delivery of the work.

With regard to deductions from wages, no deductions may be made from the worker's wages or salary except by garnishment or voluntary assignment before the magistrate of the place of residence or the labour and social security inspector of the area of jurisdiction for the repayment of an advance granted by the employer to the worker.

The determination of the portions of wages subject to progressive deductions and the related rates is provided for by decrees issued on the proposal of the Minister in charge of Labour after the opinion of the Permanent National Labour Council. The deduction thus referred to may not, for each pay, exceed the rates fixed by decrees. For the calculation of the deduction, account must be taken not only of the salary itself but also of all the accessories to the salary, with the exception of allowances declared non-seizable by the regulations in force, sums allocated by way of reimbursement of expenses incurred by the worker and allowances or indemnities for family responsibilities.

Source: Art. 221, 231 & 232, 241 & 242 of the Labour Code, 2009