Minimum Wage
According to the Labour Code, the guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage is the absolute minimum below which it is forbidden to pay a worker. The SMIG is then set by decree on the proposal of the Minister of Labour after consultation with the most representative employers' and workers' organisations.
Clauses containing indexation on the guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage, or references to it, are formally prohibited in collective labour agreements.
The Guaranteed Interprofessional Minimum Wage is set at eighty thousand francs per month for the general and agricultural schemes, throughout the national territory. It is calculated on the basis of 6 hours 40 minutes per day for activities subject to the general regime, i.e. 40 hours per week, and 8 hours of work per day for agricultural and similar activities, i.e. 48 hours per week.
In addition to the determination of the guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage, the Monthly Minimum Income, abbreviated to MMI, is set by decree on the joint proposal of the Minister of Labour and the Minister of the Budget after consultation with the most representative employers' and workers' organisations. It is granted to any worker whose gross monthly salary is less than the amount.
They also set, in the absence of collective agreements or in their silence, the minimum wages by professional category; the minimum rates for overtime or night work or work on non-working days; the seniority and attendance bonuses.
The task of ensuring the application and respect of legal provisions relating to wages and general working conditions falls to the Labour Inspectorate.
Employers who pay wages below the minimum set by the said decree are liable to a fine of five hundred thousand (500,000) CFA francs to one million (1,000,000) CFA francs and, in the event of a repeat offence, to a fine of one million (1,000,000) to two million (2,000,000) CFA francs, and punished by imprisonment for two to six months or one of these two penalties only.
Sources: Articles 144, 179, 180, 233 and 273 of the Labour Code, 2021; Articles 2-5 of Decree No. 855/PR/MTE of November 9, 2006 establishing the Guaranteed Interprofessional Minimum Wage in the Gabonese Republic.
Regular Pay
In accordance with the Labour Code, wages are basic remuneration or salary, and all benefits and accessories paid directly or indirectly in cash by the employer to the worker by reason of the latter's employment.
Thus, the Labour Code provides that wages must be paid in legal tender, during working hours, at the workplace or at the employer's office when it is close to the workplace. In no case may payment be made on the worker's day of rest, nor in a liquor store or sales outlet, except for workers who are normally employed there. In addition to this obligation, the employer is obliged to pay the salary at regular intervals not exceeding fifteen days for hourly or daily wage workers, and one month for monthly wage workers.
As regards the determination of the time wage, it is established by the hour or by the day, by the week or by the month, by the piece or by the task.
Monthly payments must be made no later than five days after the end of the working month that gives rise to the salary.
In the event of permanent termination of services, wages and allowances must be paid upon termination of service. Nevertheless, in the event of a dispute, the employer may obtain from the President of the Court the provisional freezing in his hands of all or part of the sizable portion of the sums due.
Wages owed to employees in the event of bankruptcy or judicial liquidation have first priority and must be paid in full before other creditors can claim their share. At the time of payment, the employer is required to issue the employee with an individual pay slip. The payment of wages is recorded by the employer in a register kept for this purpose in the pay book or register.
Source: Art. 18 Al. 2; 151- 153 and 157 of the Labour Code, 2019
