Work and Wages
Minimum Wage
The Constitution states that the State will set national standards regarding limiting the duration of work and shall create conditions for establishing a national minimum wage for various occupations.
The process for determining the minimum wage has been established neither by law nor by collective agreements. The Country’s first national minimum wage was set by the Cape Verde Commission for Social Dialogue and came into force on 1st January 2014. The guaranteed minimum monthly wage does not include allowances, bonuses, gratuities, or any occasional or long-term payments. The Government and social partners, via the Social Consultation Council, regularly study the socio-economic impact of setting the minimum wage. The wage should be reviewed and adjusted whenever there are changes in public service, or as the Council decides. These revisions account for factors such as cost-of-living increases, productivity trends, income and price policies, and the development level of economic sectors.
As of 2026, the national minimum wage applicable to the private sector is set at 17,000 CVE, as established by government resolution. Public policy has indicated a progressive increase trajectory, with a target of reaching 25,000 CVE by 2027, subject to economic and social conditions.
Compliance with minimum wage regulations, along with other Labour Code provisions, is the responsibility of the General Labour Inspectorate, which works directly under the Ministry of Labour. Labour Inspectors have the right to impose fines. Violation constitutes a very serious offence and is punishable by a fine ranging from 5,000 (five thousand reais) to 100,000 (one hundred thousand reais). Compliance with wage rules may also be enforced through administrative and judicial mechanisms, under the institutional framework laid down in Decree-Law No. 55/2018, as amended by Decree-Law No. 8/2025.
Source: Article 60 of The Constitution of Cape Verde 1980; § 394-397 of the Labour Code 2007; Decree Law No. 6/2024
Regular Pay
Wages mean “basic remuneration and all other regular and periodic benefits provided, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to the worker as counterpart to the work.”
Remuneration is due for determined and equal periods, which cannot exceed 31 days and must be paid on the last working day of the reference period. Except for collective agreement or the employer’s regulation to which the worker agrees, remuneration should always be paid in national currency. Whenever part of remuneration is done in kind, this portion cannot be bigger than the part paid in cash, except if the opposite is established in a collective agreement. Remuneration must be paid at the place of work. It is forbidden to perform the payment of remuneration in premises dedicated to gambling and the sale of liquor, except for the workers of these businesses. Article 201 also permits payment through lawful means, including bank transfer; in formal employment, payment through the banking system is common.
The parties may agree on other forms of remuneration aimed at increasing production and productivity, enhancing the quality of the products and promoting better uses and conservation of the employer’s assets.
The employer cannot make deductions from the wage except for those established by law for the funding of the social security; deductions determined by a final decision of the court; compensation payable by the employee to the employer because of damage caused by him/her to the company which is determined by the court; fines imposed as a disciplinary sanction; meal price at the workplace, the use of telephones, supplies or services of the company that the employee expressly requests; and the allowances or advances provided because of the written document signed by the worker. However, all these deductions (fines imposed, compensation for damages and deductions set by the decision of a court), except for those set by law, cannot exceed one third (33%) of the employees’ wages. The employer should make clear the composition of remuneration and the deductions applied. Even where deductions are lawful, they must comply with proportionality requirements and cannot be used in a manner that effectively deprives the worker of subsistence.
The labour legislation does not mandate a 13th/14th month salary or similar compulsory bonuses. Whether a bonus is paid is typically determined by the employment contract, internal work rules, established company practice and/or collective agreement (CBA).
Source: §199-203 of the Labour Code 2007
