Catalog

Definition of Labour law..................................................................................................................1

Objectives of labour law..................................................................................................................2
The Scope of Labour law..................................................................................................................2
Sources of Labour law......................................................................................................................2
1. The convectional sources.....................................................................................................2
2. The Non conventional sources.............................................................................................2
Contract of apprenticeship..............................................................................................................3
Characteristics.........................................................................................................................3
Contract of probation......................................................................................................................3
Characteristics.........................................................................................................................3
Contract Of training........................................................................................................................4
Employment contract......................................................................................................................4
Characteristics.........................................................................................................................4
Types of employment contracts and their characteristics.......................................................4
Specified duration contract.....................................................................................................4
Employment contract of specified duration............................................................................5
Other specified duration contracts..........................................................................................5
Employment of unspecified duration......................................................................................5
Modification of an employment contract................................................................................6

Course content
 Definition of labour law
 Objective of labour law
 Scope of law labour
 Sources of labour law.
 Labour contracts and other related contracts.
 Contracts of apprenticeship.
 Contracts of probation.
 Contract of training.
 Employment of training.
 Employment contracts.
 Characteristics of employment contracts.
 Types of employment contracts and their characteristics.
 Modification of an employment contract.
 Suspension of an employment contractt.
 Terimation of an employment contract.
 Staff representatives.
 Labour dispute.
 condition of work
 Rights and duties of the employer and employee.
 Trade union and employer association.
 The function of the labour inspector.

Definition of Labour law

These are rules and regulation governing the relationship between the employer and the employee.

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Objectives of labour law.

i. To promote the rights of workers with weaker bargaining position than the employer.
ii. To create a balance between between employer and the employee by providing them with some
actions to protect their rights. E.g Strikes for the workers and lockout or missal for employer.
iii. To ensure political stability. Because they is a relationship between politics and labour.
iv. To maintain social peace.

The Scope of Labour law

Labour law is applicable to all relationship between the employer and employee but the labour code
is not applicable to all workers in Cameroon e.g civil servants, members of judiciary, members of the
forces of law of law and order, the labour code is only applicable to private workers and contract
officers with the government.

Sources of Labour law

1. The convectional sources

The conventional sources takes precedence over the none conventional sources such as Labour
contracts.
a. The Labour contract : The labour contract takes precedence over the other conventional
sources. It is defined as an agreement between the employer and the employee. Whereby the
employee accepts to provide services under the management and supervision of the employer
for remuneration.
b. Collective agreement : Is when the representatives of the employer and the employee sit
together to discuss many problems relating to their labour relationship.
c. Company agreement : Is when the representatives of the employer and the employee sit
together to discuss a problem relating to their labour relationship.
d. Usages : These are practices or custom within the enterprise that the members must respect.
e. Internal rules and regulation : These are laws within the enterprise that the members must
respect.

2. The Non conventional sources

I. Internal

a. The constitution : It is the supreme law of the land to which all laws must be derived or conform
to it. E.g the constitution of 1996 amended by the constitution of the 14th of April provides for
liberty to work and non discrimination among workers.
b. Legislation : The act of making labour sources, it can be done from decrees, ordinances, orders
and laws from our colonial master. The main text that governs labour matters is the 1992 labour
code.
c. Case laws : these are laws made by judges when deciding labour matters in court. Case law is
bases judicial precedence which is the application of past decisions of labour with present cases
with similar facts.

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d. Legal writings or doctrines : There are opinions of professionals which are used in amending the
law in future.
e. The general principles of law : These are principles that guides the judges when judging labour
matters in court such as the principle of justices and equity.

II. External sources.

a. Treaties and international conventions : These are agreement between states. It is can bilateral
when it concerns two states and multilateral when it concerns more than two states. E.g the
international labour organization comprising of 182 states provides for non discrimination
among workers.

Contract of apprenticeship

Section 45 of the law code defines a contract of apprenticeship between the head of an establishment
and apprenticeship whereby the head of an establishment accepts to provide a specific training to the
apprenticeship and for the apprentice to abide to hte rules and regulation of the head of the
establishment.

Characteristics

 The contract must be written

 It must last less than 4 years. Because more than that time will turn to an employment contract
or non specified duration.
 The minimum age to sign such contract is 14 and 21 for the apprentice and the establishment ‘s
head respectively.
 The apprentices must not pay for the apprentices but the head of the establishment must pay
the apprentice.
 The apprentice must provide their working tools.
 The establishment must not be too hard with the apprentice.
 At the end of the apprenticeship must issue a certificate of end of apprenticeship.

Contract of probation

Section 28 of the labour code defines a contract of probation as an agreement between the employer
and the employee whereby the employer appraises the services of the employee and the employee
appraises the general working condition of the employer.

Characteristics

 It must be written.
 Fixed duration depending on the worker ‘s category such as
Category 1 to 2, 15 days.
Category 2 to 4 - 1 months.
5 to 6 - 2 months.
7 to 9 - 3 months.

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10 to 12 - 4 months.

 It can be renewed once and if it goes beyound it turns to an employment contract or unspecified
duration.
 This contract is delicate contract because it can be terminated at anytime by any of the parties
without notices or payment of damages.
 It adds to longevity of service.

Contract Of training

It is an agreement between the employer and the employee whereby a specific training is given to the
employee. The training can internal or external, before or after the employment contract, the training
can be paid fir by the employer or the employee. When the training is sponsored by the employee the
worker won’t be paid during that period, on the contrary when the employer pays for the training the
worker get paid in that case there must be a written contract with some exclusivity clauses to prevent
the worker from working else for a period of 10 years.

Employment contract

Section 23 of the labour code defines an employment contract as an agreement between the
employer and the employee whereby the employee agrees to provide services under the
management and supervision of the employer for remuneration in the form of salary or wage.
Salary is a monthly remuneration not based on the hours on work done. Wage is a monthly
remuneration based on the hours on work done or the quantity.

Characteristics

 It is onerous contract because it must be renumerate ( the worker must be paid ).

 It is intuitu personas ( by oneself ).
 Contract of subordination (Meaning the employee is under the management and supervision of
the employer )
 It is a contract of reciprocity ( there must be mutuality of obligation, each party it own duties ).
 A contract of sucessive execution it means the relationship must be continuous.

Types of employment contracts and their characteristics

Specified duration contract

Secion 25 of the labour code povideds types.

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Employment contract of specified duration.

Ssction 25 of the define it as a contract when the the employee and empoyer know in advence when
the contract starts and ends.

Characteristics

 Be written.
 It must be finite and not than 2 years.
 It can renewed one, more than not it turns to contract unspecified duration.
 One should not work under it for more 4 years.
 It is not a precarious or a delicate contract because the parties must respect their obligation
except some other elements causes the end of the contract.

Other specified duration contracts

i. Occasional contract : A contract where the employee provides an urgent service to the
employer e.g computer repair, it lasts 15 days and can be renews once and if it goes beyond it
turns into an employment of unspecified duration.
ii. Temporary contract : A agreement between employer and employee to replace an adsent
worker e.g a worker on maternity leave. The duration is 3 months renewable once if it goes
beyond it turns to an employment contract of unspecified duration.
iii. Seasonal contract: A agreement to provide seasonal services to an employer e.g planting and
harvesting. The duration is six months.

Employment of unspecified duration

It is an agreement between the employer and the employee whereby they don’t know in advance
when to end their labour relationship.

Characteristics

 The contract can be in writing or verbal.

 No fit duration.
 It is a delicate contract be cause it can be terminated at anytime provide a notice is given. The
period of notice is based on the category of the worker and longevity as provided below.
Category Less than 1 year 5 years Above 5 years
1-6 15 days 1 month 2 months
7-9 1 months 2 months 3 months
10 - 12 2 months 3 months 4 months
Notice is important because it gives the opportunity for another worker and the employee to look for
another job. During period of notice. The worker is given one day of his choice per week to look for
another job.

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Modification of an employment contract

It means changing the clauses of an employment contract such as

i. Substantial clauses : Changes such as salary or job description, the concern of the worker i
needed.
ii. Non substantial clauses : To change a non substantial clause the clause of the worker is not
needed e.g his office.

Suspension of an employment contract

It is means a tentative stop of labour relationship.

Elements that determine suspension.
 Ordinary sickness : An illness not derived from doing a particular job.
 It can not be more than 6 months because beyond that the contract can be terminate if the
worker is replace.
 Occupational illness or accidents : Here the worker can suspend his employment contract until
he gets well. If he can not get well he will present a medical certificate of total incapacity and the
contract would be terminate. During this period the worker is paid a daily allowance equivalent
to monthly salary by the social insurance firm.
Monday 20th January 20,
2025
Maternity leave
This when a female worker suspends her employment contract to prepare for her delivery. The
duration is 14 weeks and 6 weeks can be added to it when the female worker faces some
complications after delivery. A female worker goes on maternity week, 4 weeks before the due date
of the delivery, during this period, the female worker ends a daily allowance equivalent to her
monthly salary by the Social Insurance Fund. Within 15 months of delivery, the female worker has 1h
per day of her choice to breastfeed the child.
Suspension to layoff
Layoff is defined as suspension of an employment contract when the company is facing financial
difficulties. The duration of layoff is 6 months and during this period the salaries of the workers are as
follows;
1st month 50% of the salary
2nd month 40% of the salary
3rd month 35% of the salary
4th month 30% of the salary
5th month 25% of the salary
6th month 20% of the salary
Suspension for further training
When the further training is sponsored by the employer, they must be a written contract with some
exclusivity clauses and the worker will be paid his monthly salary. But if the training is sponsored by
the employee, the salary will not be paid during this period.
Suspension to miss spouses
The duration should not more the 2 years and during this period the worker is not paid.
Detention
This is when a worker is locked in the cell. An employment can be suspended due to detention but it
can lead to dismissal when it puts down on the character of the worker.
The Act of GOD
This is a natural disaster that affects the subject matter of the contract.
Force majeure
This is an event that is unforeseeable/ unpredictable/ inevitable, that have affected the subject
matter of the contract.
Suspension due to the act of a third party

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This is when the third party fails to provide the means to execute the contract.
Suspension for political reasons
This is when a worker is appointed to a political post such as senator or minister.
Suspension for military reasons
This when the contracts of some workers especially men are suspended during period of war to
defend the nation.
Suspension due the act of prince
This is an administrative measure that prevents the smooth functioning of activities within a particular
area.

Terminations of an employment contract

- By parties agreement:
In a specified duration contract, the parties agree to terminate when the duration has
ended.
In an employment contract of unspecified duration the parties agree to terminate at
will, provided a notice is given.
- Ordinary illness
Here, the contract will be terminated when the suspension is more than 6 months and the
worker is replaced.
- Occupational illness
The contract will be terminated when the worker presents a medical certificate of total
incapacity.
- Termination due to frustration
This is the occurrence of an event that has prevented the execution of the contract such as;
1) The death of 1 of the parties especially the worker
2) The act of GOD can also terminate the contract
3) The act of a third party can also the terminate the contract
4) Force majeure can also the contract
5) Financial difficulties: In this situation, a special procedure call a tripartite conciliation
meeting must be followed to choose the workers to terminate their contract based on
longevity, family status, capacity and behaviour.
6) The act of prince can also terminate the contract
7) The act of a third party can also frustrate
- Dismissal
This is when an employment contract is terminated due to gross misconduct. Dismissal
carries an infamy or shame and there are some payment that will not be made to the worker
for example; severance.

Staff Representative
A staff representative is a worker elected by other workers tom represent them.
Conditions for a staff representative
- The company must have at least 20 workers
- The person to be elected must be aged 20 and must have worked in the enterprise for at
least 12 months.
- The workers to elect the staff representative must be aged 18 years and must have worked
in the enterprise for at least 6 months
- The staff representative must be bilingual
- The staff representative should no relation with the employer
- The term of office of the staff representative is 2 years to be re-elected
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The functions or the role of the staff representative
1. Demanding functions: All the problems faced by the workers are channeled to the staff
representative to present before the employer and ask for solutions

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 2. Participations: He participates in most of the meeting of the enterprise such as the tripartite
conciliation meeting, in labour matters and when the company wants to terminates the
contracts of some workers due to financial difficulties
Labour Disputes

3. Other functions: The staff executive must make sure that the workers are registered in the
social insurance form and he must also make sure that health and safety standards are
provided

Privileges of the staff representative

- The staff representative is the only worker who employment contract cannot be terminated
due to gross misconduct except with a decision from the labour inspector.
- He has some financial benefits e.g. allowances during meetings

Labour Dispute

It is defined as a misunderstanding or a problem between the employer and the

employee

Types of labour dispute

1. Individual labour dispute: It is a misunderstanding between the employer and

the employee
2. Collective labour dispute: A misunderstanding between the workers and the
employer

Procedure to solve labour dispute

a. Grievance proceedings: An internal mechanism to solve labour problem

Individual labour dispute

1. Grievance proceedings: An internal mechanism to solve labour problems.

When it fails the next step will be;
2. One of the parties can sue in court or
3. The parties will agree for conciliation with the labour inspector which can
result in the following such as total conciliation, partial conciliation, non-
conciliation by default and non-conciliation to be discussed later

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Procedure to settle collective labour dispute

1. Grievance proceedings: This is an internal mechanism to solve labour

problems. When it fails the next step will be
2. Conciliation with the labour inspector.
The tripartite conciliation meeting will involve the representative of the
employer and the representative of the employee plus the labour inspector.
They will arrive at the following;
1. Total conciliation: This is when the labour inspector succeed in solving all
the problems. He will establish a statement of total conciliation indicating
all what he has solved. He will hand copies to the parties. One will be sent
to the court and the labour inspector will copy one for himself

2. Partial conciliation: This is when the labour inspector did not succeed to
solve all the problems. He will establish a statement of partial conciliation
indicating the problems he succeeded to solve and those he failed to solve.
He will hand copies to the party’s; one will be sent to the court and he will
keep one for himself

3. Non-conciliation by default: This is where the labour inspector did not

succeed to solve the problem due to the absence of one of the parties. he
will establish a statement of non-conciliation by default and he hand to the
party present he will send a copy to the court and keep one for himself.

4. Non-conciliation: This is when the labour inspector did not succeed to

resolve any problem. He will establish a statement of non-conciliation, he
will hand copies to the parties and keep one for himself and one will be
sent to the court

Condition of work

i. Night work; Begins from 10:00 p.m to 6:00 a.m and should be better paid
ii. Women shouldn’t not work in the night
iii. Minors shouldn’t in work in the night
iv. The minimum age to sign an independent contract is 14 years..

Hours of work

i. The hours of work per week is 40. Which is 8 hours frrom Monday to Friday or 7
hours from Monday to Friday and 5 hours in Saturday. Any extra hour is considered
overtime and must be paid.
ii. SMIG (Solaire Minimium Interprofessional Garre 41000frs
iii. The period of rest is the week or Sunday

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iv. Leave is a cumulative period of work per year
CalculTION of the period of leave
 For minors; The duration of leave is 2 and a half days per months x 12 months
which is 30 working days.
 For abults he duration of leave is 1 and a half days per months x 12 months which
is 18 working days.
 For abults who worked for 5 year duration of leave is 2 per months x 12 months
which is 2 months.
 For workers with kids less than six years two working days should be added per
kids

OBJECTIVES OF TRADE UNIONS

To bargain the salary of employees through a collective bargaining process

To assist workers and employers to enable them to be conscious and well organized and their actions
To project the interest of employee and to create a balance between the employer and the employee
To train employees to adapt to new skills and also to sensitize them
To study and adopt realistic approach to some problems

TYPES OF TRADE UNION

1-) Craft Union:

It is the oldest trade union formed to organize workers according to their particular field such as
Engineers, Carpenters, Builders, Painters, Printers etc.
2-) General Union
General union is made for all workers in Cameroon no matter their place of Job, the nature or the
qualification of each worker
3-) Industrial Union
It is a union formed by all the workers in a particular company or institution
4-) White Collar Union
It is a union made in Clerical Staff like Teachers, Bankers, Accouters.

XTICS OF TRADE UNION

1-) It should be a permanent association

It must be autonomous or independent without any foreign intervention
It must have its own resources
Trade unions should be Apolitical
Trade union, must have freedom, of expression and the right to negotiate
FORMATION OF TRADE UNION AND
Section 7 OF THE LABOUR Code provides that “A person can be part of a member of trade union if i
He is a worker at the time of joining it.
Any application of the registration of trade union must be signed by at least 20 Members
The applicants must posses civic right meaning he must not be an aconite.
For foreigners they are required to have resided at least 5 years in Cameroon
Section 11 i-) provides the following
-Application to create a trade union must be send to the register of trade union
To be accompanied by two copies of the rules and the list of names of the officers in the
trade union.
The register will acknowledge receipt of the application.

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 He will examine it within one month and register the company, beyond this period and if no
rejection is notified, the trade union will be considered as REGISTERED. The register of trade
union will not register a trade union under a name that is identified with an existing trade
union, The trade union can acquire a Legal existence on the day of issuing a certificate of
registration on the other hand, when the applicant doesn’t respect all the conditions the
application will be rejected with all the reasons of the registration will be applied and to the
applicant to correct and reapply.
The register of trade union must be a civil servant appointed by the government

PROBLEMS FACED BY TRADE UNIONS

1- Cameroonians are not aware of the existence of trade union

2- a large majority of workers do not realize the importance of trade unions and therefore
they are not members
3- Trade union has become political and therefore their activities are influenced by politics
4- The greatest problem facing trade union to day is Tribalism and Nepotism
5- There is fragmentation of the trade union

THE DUTY OF THE LABOUR INSPECTOR

The labor inspector is any civil servant of the labor

administration placed at the head of the labor and social,

insurance inspector rate or at the delegation it shall be a civil

servant with integrity.

it should not have interest in the enterprise under the supervision

he has to take an oath. The oath must be taking in the court of appeal in the area of
posting.
Failure to take an oath may necessitate penalties
The labor inspector must treat any complain confidential
The labor inspector must have permanently all material resources to carry out his
function.
He shall be empowered to do the following:
1- He has the right to enter any establishment the purpose for inspection and canteen
sanitary installation and water.
2- To carry out any examination r inquiry to interrogate the employers and the
employees concerning the laws and application.
3- To ask for any accounting document.
4- To take away samples of materials and substances away from the enterprise.
5- They must inform the employer for every visit except it may be prejudicial to their
investigation.
6- They can take direct actions in court against those who infringe the law.

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