LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

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LRI 2022
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lri 2022 Country Profiles

Benin

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Benin’s overall score is 63.5 out of 100. The overall score for Benin is lower than the regional average observed across Sub-Saharan Africa (64.4). Within the Sub-Saharan Africa region, the highest score is observed for Guinea (80.5).

Benin ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1960 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1968.

Labour Rights Index 2022

63.5/100

LRI Country Score

50/100

Trade Union Indicator

- %

Trade union density rate (%)

- %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

0.87

SDG indicator 8.8.2

4

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

Yes

1

§31 of Constitution1990; §79-84 of Labour Code 1998; USDOS CRHRP 2021

No Violation Found

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

No

0

§122-128 & 286-289 of Labour Code 1998; Loi N° 92-010 du 16 Juillet 1992; USDOS CRHRP 2021

D

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

§264 of the Labour Code 1998; Loi n° 2001-09 portant exercice du droit de grèv; CEACR, C87, Obs. 2019

B

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

Yes

1

No violative legal provisions could be located

No Violation Found

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/  

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100. 

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT. 

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT. 

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT. 

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.  For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link. 

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Violations

No Violation

Violations

US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021 (USDOS)
USDOS CRHRP 2021

The law provides for the rights of workers to bargain collectively. By law collective bargaining agreements are negotiated within a joint committee including representatives of one or several unions and or representatives of one or several employers’ associations. A labor inspector, a secretary, and one or two rapporteurs preside over the committee. The minister of labor has the authority to determine which trade unions may be represented in the negotiation at the enterprise level. The minister has the power to extend the scope of coverage of a collective agreement. The law imposes compulsory conciliation and binding arbitration in the event of disputes during collective bargaining in all sectors, “nonessential service” sectors included.

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
CEACR, C87, Obs. 2019

Scope of the Act in terms of the persons covered. The Committee notes that military personnel, paramilitary personnel (police, customs, water, forestry, hunting, etc.) and healthcare staff may not exercise the right to strike (new section 2). In this regard, the Committee wishes to recall that it considers that States may restrict or prohibit the right to strike of public servants “exercising authority in the name of the State”, for example, civil servants in government ministries and other comparable bodies, and ancillary staff and that, when they are not exercising authority in the name of the State, they should benefit from the right to strike without being liable to sanctions, except in the case that the maintenance of a minimum service may be envisaged. This principle should also apply to civilian personnel in military institutions when they are not engaged in the provision of essential services in the strict sense of the term (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 130 and 131).
(…)
Duration of the strike. The Committee notes that the exercise of the right to strike is subject to certain conditions of duration. Strikes may not exceed ten days in any one year; seven days in a six-month period; and two days in the same month. Regardless of the duration, the stoppage of work during a day shall be considered as a full day of strike action (new section 13). The Committee considers that workers and their organizations should be able to call a strike for an indefinite period if they so wish (see the 2012 General Survey, paragraph 146).

Violations

No Violation