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NIGERIA

There have been informal attempts by local manufacturers of trademarked goods to curtail smuggled imports of falsified products which often originate in the Far East. Statutory protection exists, but again enforcement is weak.

The Copyright Decree of 1988 dramatically increased the penalties for those convicted of infringement or of assisting in the act of infringement. The Nigerian Copyright Council was established in 1989 to help reduce infringement. Thus far, there has been some progress, with a number of arrests and civil actions. The International Intellectual Property Alliance estimated that U.S. companies lost $39 million in 1988 due to copyright piracy, excluding losses from piracy of computer software.

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All Nigerian workers aged 16 years or older may join trade unions, with the exception of members of the Armed Forces and designated employees of essential government services (which may vary by decree) as defined by the Federal Military Government. Employers are obliged to recognize trade unions and must pay a dues checkoff for employees who are members of a registered trade union. Nigeria has an active trade union movement, and one which has, within government-imposed limits, considerable latitude for action. Since 1975, government policy has permitted international labor affiliation only with the ILO, the Organization of African Trade Union Unity and affiliated Pan African Labor Federations. Government policy does permit, however, informal "fraternal relations" with foreign unions and secretariats as long as there is no formal affiliation.

b.

Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The labor laws of Nigeria permit collective bargaining between management and trade unions. However, restrictive measures imposed by the government in recent years have significantly reduced the range of issues open to bargaining. Collective bargaining on salaries is common in the industrial sector of the economy which, however, is relatively small. Nigerian law protects workers against retaliation by employers for labor activity.

C.

Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

This prohibition is generally observed except in two popular community service areas, the National Youth Service Corporation and the environmental clean-up campaign.

d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children

Nigeria's 1974 Labor Decree prohibits employment of children under 15 years of age in commerce and industry and restricts other child labor to home based agricultural or domestic work. The Labor Decree does allow the apprenticeship of youths aged 13 to 15, but only under specific conditions. Apprenticeship exists in a wide range of crafts, trade and state enterprises. With respect to apprentices over the age of 15, their activity is not specifically regulated by the

NIGERIA

government. The government's ability to enforce these laws is limited.

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Nigeria's 1974 Labor Decree also established a 40-hour workweek, prescribed two to four weeks of annual leave, and set a monthly minimum wage for commerce and industry. The minimum wage is 125 naira (about $16 at the current official rate of exchange). Organized labor is currently negotiating for an increase in the minimum wage, which will probably change in early 1991. The last revision of the minimum wage was ten years ago. The 1974 Decree contains general health and safety provisions, some aimed specifically at young and female workers, enforceable by the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Productivity. Employers must compensate injured workers and dependent survivors of those killed in industrial accidents. The ineffectiveness of the Ministry in enforcing these laws in the workplace is regularly criticized by labor unions.

f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment

Worker rights in petroleum, chemicals and related products, primary and fabricated metals, machinery, electric and electronic equipment, transportation equipment, and other manufacturing sectors are not significantly different from those in other major sectors of the economy. In the sectors of wholesale trade and food and related products, there are exceptions to the norm. Child labor is common in these fields and organized labor exists only in its most rudimentary form.

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(D)-Suppressed to avoid disclosing data of individual companies

Source:

U.S. Department of Commerce, Survey of Current Business
August 1990, Vol. 70, No. 8, Table 13

* Section 8 is an abridged version of Section 6 of the Nigeria country report included in the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990, submitted to the Congress January 31, 1991. For a comprehensive discussion of worker rights, please refer to that report.

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Sources: IMF, World Bank, Government of Senegal, USAID,
USDOC, and Embassy estimates.

1. General Policy Framework

Thirty years after achieving independence, Senegal's resource-poor economy remains fragile and dependent upon foreign donors for continued viability. In 1988 Senegal had an estimated population of just over seven million persons, and a per capita GNP of U.S.$630. Its major resources are agriculture, fishing, and phosphates. The World Bank's 1989 World Development Report ranks Senegal as the 43rd poorest country of 129 countries with populations greater than a million persons.

According to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics for 1988, of the 173 trading partners of the United States,

SENEGAL

Senegal ranked 106th as a market for U.S. goods and 133rd as a supplier of U.S. imports. In 1989 Senegal purchased almost U.S.$69 million in U.S. goods. Agricultural commodities accounted for over 55 percent of this total, with rice imports alone making up over 42 percent of total imports from the United States.

Senegal's principal economic resource is its agricultural sector. Overall output of the economy is closely linked to the amount of rainfall received during any given year. In the past, Senegal's economy was overwhelmingly dependent on a single export crop peanuts for foreign exchange earnings. When the first of a series of droughts struck in the latter part of the sixties, the economy deteriorated rapidly. Since then, considerable efforts have been made to diversify the economy. Today, fish, phosphates, tourism, and refined petroleum products (processed from imported crude and exported to neighboring countries) are also major foreign exchange

earners.

Since June 1983, Senegal has been actively pursuing a structural adjustment program with the support of the IMF, the World Bank and major bilateral donors. The program has been designed to liberalize the economy and rationalize the allocation of resources in order to encourage economic growth and development through market forces. The government's pursuit of structural adjustment has been marked by demand management policies and fiscal restraint, which have stabilized prices and reduced both the massive budget and trade deficits of the early 1980s. Quantitative import restrictions have been eliminated with a few exceptions such as sugar and tomato paste. The government's approach to fiscal policy in recent years has been to try to increase revenues, mainly through tax and tariff reforms and procedural changes and to control costs through reducing subsidies, privatizing parastatals, and downsizing the Government bureaucracy. Expenditure controls, which led to a decline in both current and capital expenditures, in real terms, between 1986/87 and 1988/89, have proven difficult to sustain. Combined with lower than expected revenues in 1988/89 and 1989/90 this has contributed to a budget deficit of 2.1 and 3.4 percent of GDP respectively in each of those years.

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As a member of the West African Monetary Union, Senegal's exchange system is free of restrictions. It shares a common currency, the "Communaute Financiere Africaine" (CFA) franc, with six other West African countries. The CFA franc is issued by a common Central Bank, the "Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest." The value of the CFA franc is pegged to the French franc at a fixed rate of 50 to 1.

Senegal's investment code guarantees the right to transfer capital and income earned on investments financed with convertible foreign exchange. Movement of funds out of Senegal is controlled by the Ministry of Finance through the banking system. Subject to verification by exchange control authorities, companies may freely transfer dividends and income from invested capital to the country of their registered principal office, as well as proceeds from the

SENEGAL

Once

liquidation of assets. Conversion of investment returns are authorized when a properly submitted dossier complete with supporting documentation is presented to the Ministry of Finance's office of Money and Credit by the firm's bank. approval is granted, the file goes back to the firm's bank where the transfer is made. All transactions outside the franc monetary area are controlled.

3. Structural Policies

Under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund, Senegal has pursued a fiscal policy geared towards deficit reduction. The two key elements are increasing revenues and controlling expenditures. With a view towards enhancing revenues, the government is undertaking a major reform of the tax and tariff system. The reforms which may affect demand for imports (including those of U.S. origin) are the increase in the customs duty rate from 10 percent to 15 percent and the introduction of a minimum tax assessment for certain imports known to be subject to under invoicing.

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The burden of external public debt on the economy increased sharply during the past decade. According to Ministry of Finance figures, by the end of 1989 Senegal's total external long-term debt was about $3.3 billion, 98 percent of which was public or publicly guaranteed debt. government of Senegal has followed a cautious external debt management policy in trying to ease Senegal's heavy debt service burden. Roughly 57 percent of Senegal's debt is owed to official bilateral creditors, while multilateral debt accounts for about 33 percent. The remaining 10 percent is private debt. In February 1990, Senegal negotiated an eighth debt rescheduling agreement with official creditors at the Paris Club. Relief totalled about $122 million, of which just over $5 million was owed to the United States.

5. Significant Barriers to U.S. Exports

Government procurement is done on a competitive bid basis. However, there are strong commercial and cultural ties with France which tend to sway procurement decisions in favor of companies based in France. As a result, many U.S. firms operating in Senegal do so through their French subsidiary or affiliate.

Senegalese requirements for testing, labeling and certification have generally been adapted from the French model. Some U.S. firms have found that the lack of French language translations of their U.S. certifications has delayed the introduction of products in the Senegalese market.

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Peanuts and phosphates have traditionally been the leading foreign currency earners of the Senegalese economy, only recently displaced by exports of fish and fish products

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