(Photo: pageAfrik.info)
The BWI-affiliated National Union of Building and Construction Workers ( SNTC/BTP) welcomed the government’s announcement on 3 April to ban layoffs and guarantee the incomes of workers made redundant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The level of remuneration of an unemployed worker cannot be lower than the guaranteed minimum inter-professional wage or 70 percent of her/his average net salary for the last three months of activity. The same order notes that companies which will ensure compliance with these decisions will benefit from the "accompanying measures" provided by the state for employers, such as tax exemptions to companies that decided to keep their workers active during the crisis.
Diaraf Ndao, Secretary General of SNTC / BTP and titular member of BWI AFRECO for Francophone Africa explained that the government’s measure obliges employers to seek, in consultation with shop stewards and all workers representatives, alternative solutions to avoid layoffs like the reduction of working hours, shift work, anticipation of paid holidays, redeployment of workers and part-time work.