Senegal

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

Anti-Union discrimination

Barriers to the establishment of organisations

Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union

To be granted to legal personality under the Labour Code, a trade union must apply for a certificate from the Minister of the Interior recognising the existence of the trade union (art. L.8, Labour Code).

Power to refuse official registration on arbitrary, unjustified or ambiguous grounds

Article L.8 of the Labour Code grants the Minister of the Interior discretion over whether he or she chooses to certify a trade union (art. L.8, Labour Code; see also art. 812 of the Code of Civil and Commercial Obligations).

Other formalities or requirements which excessively delay or substantially impair the free establishment of organisations

Article L.8 of the Labour Code states that the Minister may or may not issue a certificate recognising the existence of a trade union, following: receipt of an investigation report of the Inspector of Labour and Social Security (detailing the circumstances and conditions of formation of the union and including the date, the place of the constitutive congress and professional backgrounds of members); verification by the Public Attorney that the statutes and members responsible for the administration and leadership of the trade union comply with the requirements of articles L.7 and L.9 of the Labour Code; and consultation with the Minister of Labour (art. L.8, Labour Code).

Absence of recourse to an independent body in the event of administrative refusal to register a trade union

The Labour Code does not establish an independent body for a trade union or its members to take recourse in the event that the Minister of the Interior refuses to issue a certificate recognising the trade union.

Restrictions on workers’ right to form and join organisations of their own choosing

Restrictions on workers’ right to join the trade union of their choosing imposed by law (i.e. obligation to join a trade union of a certain level e.g. enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and /or territorial national)

A worker may only establish or join a trade union with other workers of the same profession, similar trades or professions contributing to the production of specific products (art. L.7, Labour Code).

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to freely draw up their constitutions and rules

Any change to the statutes of a trade union must be reported to and investigated by the Inspector of Labour and the Public Attorney (art. L.8, Labour Code).

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom

To be elected to an office with responsibility for the administration or management of a trade union, a Senegalese worker must have their legal domicile in Senegal, enjoy their civil rights and have no prior convictions resulting in the suppression of the right of vote under the election laws (art. L.9, Labour Code). Foreign nationals are subject to further requirements, set out below. Where the Public Attorney finds that persons elected to office do not meet the requirements of the Labour Code, they will be automatically excluded from the management or administration of the trade union (art. L.8, Labour Code). All changes in the composition of the management or administration of the trade unions must be reported to and investigated by the Inspector of Labour and the Public Attorney and the election of new personnel may be overruled as a consequence (art. L.8, Labour Code).

Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations

Act No. 65 40 allows for the dissolution of seditious associations.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office

Others categories

Workers between the ages of 16 and 18 may only join a trade union with the consent of their parents or guardian (art. L.11, Labour Code).

Other civil servants and public employees

Persons in permanent employment of a public administration are not covered by the Labour Code (art. L.2, Labour Code).

Non-national or migrant workers

Foreigners may only be elected to trade union office if he or she has lived in Senegal for at least 5 years, and only if his or her country of origin grants the same rights to Senegalese nationals (art. L.9, Labour Code).

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents

Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to bargain collectively

Collective agreements that are designed to regulate relations between employers and workers of one or more branches of activity the national, regional or local level, shall be concluded by joint commission, which shall be called by the Minister for Labour at the request of a trade union or employers' organisation concerned, or at the Minister's own initiative (art. L.85, Labour Code).

Absence of criteria or discretionary, unclear or unreasonable criteria for determining representative organisations

For the purposes of determining whether a trade union is representative and thus entitled to be represented in the join committee for the conclusion of an industry agreement, the Minister shall assess the advice of the Inspector of Labour and Social Security and consider the following characteristics of the trade union: The number and outcome of elections of staff representatives; Independence; Contributions; Experience of the union, the extent and nature of its business (art. L.85, Labour Code). No criteria are established for determining the representative trade unions in relation to enterprise-level agreements (see Chapter III of Title VI, Labour Code).

Absence of recourse to an independent body responsible for declaring whether an organisation may negotiate or not

The Minister's determinations of the representativeness of trade unions under article L.85 of the Labour Code may be appealed to the Council of State. No recourse to a court of law is established by the Labour Code.

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Prohibition or limitation of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
at a certain level (local, regional, territorial, national; enterprise, industry, sector or general)

Enterprise level agreements are designed to adapt to the specific conditions of the undertaking, establishment or establishments concerned, the provisions of the interprofessional collective agreement, regional, local or national collective agreements and orders under section L.90 and, in particular, the conditions for granting and calculation of performance pay, premiums for individual and collective production and productivity bonuses (art. L.92, Labour Code).

Authorities’ power to intervene in the preparation of collective agreements

If a joint committee fails to agree on one or more of the provisions to be included in an industry-wide collective agreement, the Inspector of Labor and Social Security shall, at the request of either party, to intervene facilitate the implementation of this agreement (art. L.85, Labour Code).

Authorities’ or employers’ power to unilaterally annul, modify or extend content and scope of collective agreements

A collective agreement that is for an indefinite period may be terminated at the will of either party art. L.82, Labour Code. Also, at the request of one of the most representative trade unions or on the initiative of the Minister of Labour, an industry-wide collective agreements may be made ??mandatory for all employers and workers within the scope of professional and territorial application of the agreement by order of the Minister of Labour art. L.88, Labour Code.

Authorities’ approval of freely concluded collective agreements

A collective agreement that is for an indefinite period may be terminated at the will of either party art. L.82, Labour Code. Also, at the request of one of the most representative trade unions or on the initiative of the Minister of Labour, an industry-wide collective agreements may be made ??mandatory for all employers and workers within the scope of professional and territorial application of the agreement by order of the Minister of Labour art. L.88, Labour Code.

Restrictions on the scope of application and legal effectiveness of concluded collective agreements

Authorities’ approval of freely concluded collective agreements

A collective agreement must be filed in order to take effect (art. L.83, Labour Code).

Undermining of the recourse to collective bargaining and his effectiveness

Absence of appropriate mechanisms to encourage and promote machinery for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement

The Labour Code does not offer any specific mechanism to encourage the development of specific machinery for collective barganing.

Employers’ discretionary right to refuse to bargain with representative trade unions

The Labour Code does not establish a legal mechanism by which a representative trade union can compel an employer to enter into collective bargaining negotiations.

Other legal provisions undermining collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement

In the absence or pending the establishment of a collective agreement, the Minister may regulate the conditions of work for a specific profession by decree (art. L.90, Labour Code).

Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors

Other civil servants and public employees

Persons in permanent employment of a public administration are not covered by the Labour Code (art. L.2, Labour Code). The right to form collective agreements in any public services, business or institutions is subject to any other relevant law or regulations (see art. L.93, Labour Code).

Right to strike

Right to strike

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Excessively long prior notice / cooling-off period

According to the provisions on the Labour Code, a trade union must give 30 days' notice before initiating a strike. This notice may only be given 10 days from the date of the parties' compulsory conciliation meeting. See art.L273, of the Labour Code.

Absence of an independent body responsible for declaring whether a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is legal or not

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions

Restrictions with respect to type of strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action (e.g. pickets, wild-cat, working to rule, sit-down, go-slow go-slow A form of industrial action whereby the workers deliberately reduce their pace of work in order to restrict output.

See work-to-rule )

A worker who is on strike may not occupy the workplace or immediate surrounds thereof (arts. L.276 and L.279, Labour Code).

Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike

Forcible requisitioning of workers strikers (apart from cases in public essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
)

Article L.276 of the Labour Code provides that the competent administrative authority may, at any time, requisition the employees of private companies and public institutions and services in jobs essential to the safety of persons and property, the maintenance of public order, the continuity of public services, or to the satisfaction of basic needs of the nation. Although art. L.276 provides that a list of jobs so defined will be fixed by decree, no such decree has been identified.

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness

Absence of specific protection for workers involved in lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike actions (e.g. against dismissal)

The law provides no specific protection to workers who take part in a strike.

Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike actions

A worker who takes part in an illegal strike may be summarily dismissed, and loses the right to compensation or damages available in breach of contract (art. L.275, Labour Code). Also, any worker who is picketing at the employer's workplace or in the immediate surrounds thereof will be punished with a fine of between 200,000-500,000 francs, or 400,000-1 million francs for repeated offences (art. L.279, Labour Code).

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors

Undue restrictions for “public servants”

The right to strike does not apply to persons who are in the permanent employment of a public administration (art. L.2, Labour Code).

Discretionary determination or excessively long list of “essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
” in which the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is prohibited or severely restricted

Article L.276 of the Labour Code provides that a list of jobs shall be decreed in relation to which the competent administrative authority may, at any time, requisition the employees. These jobs shall be those essential to the safety of persons and property, the maintenance of public order, the continuity of public services, or to the satisfaction of basic needs of the nation, whether they are in private companies and public institutions and services. No such decree has been identified.