Democratic Republic of Congo flag Democratic Republic of Congo: Operating a Business in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Work conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Active Population in Figures

201820192020
Labour Force 28,829,03929,801,89429,797,897

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

 
201720182019
Total activity rate 64.29%64.18%64.07%
Men activity rate 66.71%66.52%66.31%
Women activity rate 61.90%61.87%61.86%

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

 

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Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration
Maximum eight hours per day, or 40 hours per week (art. 100 of the Labour Code).
Retirement Age
The retirement age is as follows: 65 for men, 60 for women, or 55 for prematurely aged men and women with at least 60 months of coverage in the last 10 years.
Working Contracts
Working contracts can be either verbal or in writing (art. 4 of the Labour Code of 1967).
Labour Laws
Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labor regulations that apply to local entreprises. Labour Code no. 67/310 of 1967 (in French)

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Cost of Labour

Minimum Wage
From January 2019, the interprofessional guaranteed minimum wage (salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti - SMIG) is CDF 7.075/day
Average Wage
Around USD 432 per year (data by the World Bank)
Social Contributions
Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers: 9% for the national insurance fund (INSS)
1% to 3% for professional training (INPP)
0.2% for the national office of employment (ONEM)
Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees: Social and employment contributions are as follows:
- National insurance fund (Institut National de Sécurité Sociale or INSS): 3.5% for the employees' share (withheld at source by the employer) and 9% for the employer.
- National office for professional training (Institut National de Préparation Professionnelle or INPP): paid only by the employer at different rates:
    3% for state-owned companies and private companies with up to 50 employees
    2% for private companies with 51 to 300 employees
    1% for private companies with over 300 employees
- National employment Office (Office National de l’Emploi or ONEM): paid only by the employer at 0.2%.

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Social Partners

Employer Associations
UNICONGO - Employers' and Interprofessional Union of Congo
FEC - Federation of Congo Businesses
Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners
According to art. 38 of the Constitution, freedom to form labor unions is recognized and guaranteed, in line with conditions set by the law. However, government employees and members of state security forces are not permitted to unionize. It is formally against the law for employers to retaliate against strikers; nevertheless, it has been reported that some syndicate leaders and activists can be subject to harassment.
Labour Unions
Unions Confederation of Congo (Confédération syndicale du Congo - CSC)
Unionisation Rate
There are no reliable data concerning the unionisation rate in the DRC.
Labour Regulation Bodies
Ministry for Employment, Labour and Social Security (Fb public page)

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Latest Update: December 2023

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