Ivory Coast: a new labor code will include telework regulations

On 01 May, Ivory Coast’s Minister of Employment and Social Protection, Adama Kamara, announced that the nation’s new Labour Code, which is currently being drafted, will be regulating telework. Hitherto non-existent in Ivorian law, the inclusion of telework regulations could provide protection for employees in terms of work-related accidents and the respect for private life. “The ongoing health crisis (Covid-19) has exposed some of the challenges of our labor legislation,” the minister said, adding that “work is underway to modify the Labour Code and integrate certain mechanisms,” as reported by the Agence de Presse Africaine (Apanews). Apanews also report the trade unions as stating that the development of telework must be accompanied by an effort to expand Internet access to ensure employment equality for workers. World Bank 2019 data show only 36% of the population used the internet. The new Labour Code is also expected to introduce a short-time working scheme, whereas currently, short-time working compensation payments are solely at the employer’s discretion. The government set up a solidarity fund at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, which in 2020 benefited some 20,000 unemployed people.