Employment in Eritrea

National Service is the state service system for Eritrean citizens aged 18 to 40. It strongly influences access to employment in Eritrea. The state is the largest employer. Assignments may place citizens in military or civilian work, including public administration, schools, health services, construction, agriculture and state enterprises. Assignment and location are generally not freely chosen. Release or exemption documents are practically significant for formal employment, identity documents, education records and legal departure from Eritrea. Avoiding or leaving National Service can lead to detention and other repression. The law sets service at 18 months, but service is often much longer in practice. The Labour Proclamation of Eritrea No. 118/2001 applies mainly to private and state profit-making undertakings. It excludes the Eritrean civil service, judges and prosecutors, major management positions and military, police and security services. A job seeker may contact the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare employment services unit, a private employment agency or an employer directly. Current official fee schedules for job-search services are not reliably published. Non-nationals need a valid work permit that states the permitted activity, duration and other conditions. The Ministry may limit, cancel, withdraw or extend the permit. Local hiring has priority, while expatriates are mainly used where suitable specialist skills are unavailable. Employment contracts may be written or oral. They should identify the duration, start date, work, place, wage, payment method and the parties' rights and duties. Less favourable contractual clauses are invalid. Contracts may be indefinite, fixed-term, work-piece or intermittent. Continuous work under a fixed-term contract generally becomes indefinite. Probation may last up to 90 days; an employee found unsuitable during probation may be dismissed without notice or severance. Apprenticeship agreements should be written and state the training, duration and pocket money. An apprentice should not work alone in hazardous conditions. Covered employment normally has a maximum of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week. A shift may not exceed eight hours. More than two hours of overtime generally requires the worker's consent, except for situations such as accidents, urgent work, force majeure or replacing an absent worker. Overtime is paid at 1.25 times the normal rate from 06:00 to 22:00, 1.5 times from 22:00 to 06:00, twice the normal rate on the weekly rest day and 2.5 times on a public holiday. Workers receive at least 24 hours of weekly rest in every seven-day period, and public holidays are paid. Annual leave starts at 14 working days in the first year and increases by one day for each following year, up to 35 working days. Unused leave is paid when employment ends. After probation, sick leave may last up to six months in a 12-month period: the first month is paid at 100 percent, the second at 50 percent and the third is unpaid. Maternity leave consists of 60 consecutive paid days beginning on the day after birth and may be divided. During pregnancy, work between 22:00 and 06:00 and overtime are prohibited. Sex and disability discrimination are prohibited by law. Employers must provide protective equipment, safety instruction and protective measures. Employer liability for an employment injury applies independently of fault. Insurance duties apply in sectors including mining, quarrying, heavy transport, construction and work involving explosives. Workers must follow the contract and workplace rules, obey lawful instructions, use tools carefully and follow safety procedures. Employers must respect dignity, provide tools and materials, protect health and safety, pay medical examination costs and submit a new-hire report within 30 working days. The law provides for worker associations and collective bargaining, with registration through the Ministry. Registration is required within one month or the association may be treated as registered. The National Confederation of Eritrean Workers, commonly called NCEW, is reported as the only legal labour union, and collective representation has limited practical reach because much employment is connected to National Service. A strike is permitted only in a labour dispute and is restricted in essential services, during conciliation or arbitration and during specified waiting periods; five days' notice is required. A labour dispute normally begins with workplace conciliation, can proceed to the Conciliation Branch of the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare, and may then reach arbitration or the Labour Relations Board. The High Court generally considers legal questions rather than rehearing the dispute. Labour claims have a one-year limitation period and employee claims are court-fee-free. Employment can end through death, expiry of a contract, resignation, misconduct, prolonged absence and other recognised grounds. Notice is generally seven days for employment under one year, 14 days for one to two years, 21 days for more than two to five years and 30 days after more than five years. Pay in place of notice may be possible. Unjustified termination can result in compensation of up to six months' wages. Severance is separate from that compensation: two weeks' wages per year for the first five years, three weeks per year for years six to ten and four weeks per year from the eleventh year; employment under one year receives a proportional two weeks' wages. No reliable official safety net for large-scale economic layoffs is documented. Informal work is highly significant, and available research citing the United States Department of State estimates that about 80 percent of the population works informally. Labour rules are weakly enforced in that sector, and domestic work is not regulated in the same way. Government- and party-owned wages have been reported below the poverty line, National Service compensation is very low and may include food or non-food rations instead of ordinary wages, and Eritrea has no reliably evidenced national minimum wage for the private sector. These conditions, together with limited labour-market data, make a written contract, proof of payment, work-permit records and release or exemption documents particularly valuable.