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e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The minimum wage, raised from $20 (J$800) to $30 (J$1,200) per week in August, is widely considered inadequate to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most salaried workers are paid more than the legal minimum. Work over 40 hours per week or 8 hours per day must be compensated at overtime rates, a provision that is observed widely.
The Labor Ministry's Industrial Safety Division sets and enforces industrial health and safety standards, which are considered adequate. Industrial accident rates, particularly in the bauxite and alumina industry, remained low. Public service staff reductions in the Ministries of Labor, Finance, National Security, and the Public Service have contributed to the difficulties in enforcing workplace regulations.
The law provides workers with the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their continued employment if they are trade union members or covered by the Factories Act. The law does not specifically protect other categories of workers in those circumstances.
From: Country
Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1999
Released by the Bureau of
Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor
U.S. Department of State
February 2000
