THE 138TH INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DAY : THE WORD OF CAMEROON HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

1- The Commission commends Government efforts to improve working conditions, in particular through Decree of 23 February 2024 to set the minimum interprofessional wage (SMIG) for State employees governed by the Labour Code at the sum of 43,969 CFA francs, i.e. an increase of 5 per cent.

2- The Commission is pleased with the action it has taken since the last ILD to ensure respect for the right to work and the right to decent working conditions, including the right to social security by handling complaints, as illustrated in Ms Bikom Alice against the company Transformation Bois du Sud (TBS), following a road accident suffered by Ms Bikom Alice on her way home from work in January 2024. The employer suspended her salary and intended to dismiss her. Following legal assistance from the CHRC South Branch, a complaint was filed against the employer. A conciliation meeting followed with the aim of reinstating the victim in her job and obtaining the payment of her salary for the months of February and March, which had been wrongfully withheld.

3. The Commission notes with regret, following the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of International Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), that certain provisions of the laws and regulations in force in Cameroon contravene duly ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions, including Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.

4. The Commission recommends to the Government for useful measures to take to ratify the two fundamental ILO Conventions that have not yet been ratified, namely Convention 187 on the Promotion of Occupational Safety and Health, 2006, and the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.

5. The Commission equally recommends to the Government to organise experience-sharing and refresher meetings on the implementation of international labour standards to strengthen social dialogue for the sustainable development of enterprises and the protection of workers and jobseekers.

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