Section 1 INSIGHTS

Reforms Around The World

Summaries of Reforms

Between 1 January 2022 and 1 January 2024, we recorded 99 Changes to indicator scores. There were more than 70 instances where around 30 countries introduced positive legal reforms, resulting in a change of score on a component to 1. In 20 cases, scores improved because 20 countries revised their minimum wages during the last two years (after 1 January 2022). These countries had earlier not updated their minimum wages during the period of 1 January 2020-1 January 2022.

Over the same period, we identified 8 instances where countries either introduced legislative changes or did not revise their minimum wages during the last two years, resulting in a change in their score to 0. Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Mozambique were the only countries to have introduced changes in their legislation that frustrated workers' rights, thereby affecting the provision of labour rights in these countries.

Algeria

❌ Fair Wages: Algeria did not revised its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Freedom of Association: Algeria has removed restrictions on workers’ right to form and join unions of their own choice.

Angola

✔ Fair Wages: Angola has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Employment Security: Angola has restricted the hiring of fixed-term contract workers by limiting the length and renewals of fixed-term contracts to 60 months.
✔ Maternity at Work: Angola has explicitly prohibited inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment.
✔ Maternity at Work: Angola has extended the length of the maternity leave from 13 to 17 weeks.

Australia

✔ Employment Security: Australia has restricted the hiring of fixed-term contract workers by limiting the maximum length, including renewals, of fixed-term contracts to 24 months.

Azerbaijan

✔ Fair Treatment: Azerbaijan has removed restrictions on women’s employment. The law now allows women to work in the same jobs as men.

Bangladesh

✔ Fair Wages: Bangladesh has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Social Security: Bangladesh has introduced contributory old-age pension and contributory survivors’ pension for its workers.
✔ Fair Treatment: Bangladesh has introduced the Suraksha scheme for self-employed by the National Pension Authority under the Universal Pension Management Act, 2023.

Benin

✔ Fair Wages: Benin has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Burkina Faso

✔ Fair Wages: Burkina Faso has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

Cabo Verde

✔ Family Responsibilities: Cabo Verde has introduced a paid paternity leave of 11 calendar days for fathers. Earlier, it had only 2 days of paternity leave.

Cameroon

✔ Fair Wages: Cameroon has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Chile

✔ Decent Working Hours: Chile has restricted maximum working hours to 52 hours per week, including overtime. The general working hours have been reduced from 45 to 40 hours per week.

Congo

✔ Maternity at Work: Congo has enacted a reform that explicitly prohibits inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment.
Fair Treatment: Congo now prohibits sexual harassment in employment with criminal penalties.

Costa Rica

✔ Family Responsibilities: Costa Rica has introduced a paid paternity leave of 8 calendar days for fathers.

Côte D'Ivoire

✔ Fair Wages: Côte D'Ivoire has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Cyprus

✔ Fair Wages: Cyprus has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

Egypt

✔ Fair Wages: Egypt has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

El Salvador

❌ Fair Wages: El Salvador has not revised its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Child and Forced Labour: El Salvador sets employment entry age equal to or higher than the compulsory schooling age. The minimum age for employment and compulsory schooling age is 16 years.

Estonia

✔ Family Responsibilities: Estonia now requires flexible work arrangements for workers with family responsibilities.

Gambia

✔ Fair Wages: Gambia mandates the regular and timely payment of wages to all workers. Employment Security: Gambia requires severance pay at the rate of more than two weeks' wages for each year of service.
✔ Family Responsibilities: Gambia has introduced paid nursing breaks of one hour per day, starting after the end of maternity leave and lasting for 18 months.
✔ Maternity at Work: Gambia implicitly prohibits inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment by introducing pregnancy as one of the prohibited grounds for discrimination.
✔ Fair Treatment: Gambia has mandated equal remuneration for work of equal value. The country also prohibits discrimination in employment matters on at least seven of the ten grounds used in the “Discrimination in Employment” component.

Guinea

✔ Fair Wages: Guinea has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

Haiti

✔ Fair Wages: Haiti has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

Indonesia

❌ Decent Working Hours: Indonesia allows maximum working hours, including overtime, to extend up to 58 hours per week rather than limiting these to 56 hours.
✔ Fair Treatment: Indonesia now prohibits sexual harassment in employment with criminal penalties.

Ireland

✔ Family Responsibilities: Ireland now requires flexible work arrangements for workers with family responsibilities.

Jordan

✔ Fair Treatment: Jordan now prohibits sexual harassment in employment with criminal penalties. A 2023 amendment in the Jordanian labour law removed restrictions on the working of women in different occupations.

Kenya

✔ Fair Wages: Kenya has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Kyrgyz Republic

❌ Child and Forced Labour: The employment entry age in the Kyrgyz Republic is lower than the compulsory schooling age since the Education law has set the compulsory schooling age as 17 years while the employment entry age is 16 years.

Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos)

✔ Fair Wages: Laos has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Lesotho

✔ Fair Wages: Lesotho has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Libya

✔ Fair Wages: Libya has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Luxembourg

✔ Family Responsibilities: Luxembourg now requires flexible work arrangements for workers with family responsibilities.

Malawi

✔ Social Security: Malawi has introduced state-administered old-age, survivors’ and invalidity benefits for its workers and their families.

Malaysia

✔ Family Responsibilities: Malaysia has introduced a paid paternity leave of 7 calendar days for fathers.
✔ Maternity at Work: Malaysia has extended the length of maternity leave from 8.5 weeks to 14 weeks. The country now also protects workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy.
✔ Fair Treatment: Malaysia now prohibits Sexual harassment in employment with civil remedies. The country has also removed restrictions on women’s employment. The law now allows women to work in the same jobs as men.

Malta

✔ Family Responsibilities: Malta has introduced a paid paternity leave of 10 working days for fathers. The country also requires flexible work arrangements for workers with family responsibilities.

Mozambique

✔ Family Responsibilities: Mozambique has introduced a paid paternity leave of 7 calendar days for fathers
✔ Freedom of Association: Mozambique has lifted restrictions on the right to strike for workers.
❌ Freedom of Association: Mozambique does not prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers.

Myanmar

✔ Fair Wages: Myanmar has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

Niger

✔ Fair Wages: Niger has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Employment Security: Niger has reduced the length of the probation period, including renewals, from six months to a maximum of two months.

Nigeria

✔ Fair Wages: Nigeria has updated its minimum wages during the last two years.

Oman

✔ Employment Security: Oman has restricted the hiring of fixed-term contract workers by limiting the length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals, to 60 months.
✔ Family Responsibilities: Oman has introduced 365 days of parental leave for parents and 7 calendar days of paid paternity leave for fathers. The country has also introduced paid nursing breaks of one hour per day, starting after the end of maternity leave and lasting for 12 months.
✔ Maternity at Work: Oman has extended the length of maternity leave from 7.1 (50 days) to 14 weeks (98 days), and the maternity benefits are now paid through social insurance or the universal benefits system.
✔ Safe Work: Oman has restricted work that is prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child. Social Security: Oman has introduced state-administered unemployment benefits for its workers as well as state-administered sickness benefits during the first 6 months of sickness for its workers.
✔ Freedom of Association: Oman has lifted all restrictions on the right to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions. The country also prohibits the replacement or termination of the striking workers.

Pakistan

✔ Family Responsibilities: Pakistan has introduced a paid paternity leave of 7 calendar days for fathers.

Papua New Guinea

❌ Fair Wages: Papua New Guinea did not revise its minimum wages during the last two years.

Peru

✔ Fair Wages: Peru has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.

Qatar

❌ Fair Wages: Qatar did not revise its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Fair Treatment: Qatar has introduced voluntary coverage protection for self-employed workers, which includes gig workers.

Rwanda

✔ Family Responsibilities: Rwanda has introduced a paid paternity leave of 7 calendar days for fathers
✔ Maternity at Work: Rwanda has extended the length of maternity leave from 12 to 14 weeks. The country also protects workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy.

Slovakia

✔ Family Responsibilities: Slovakia has introduced a paid paternity leave of 196 days for fathers. Slovakia now also requires flexible work arrangements for workers with family responsibilities.

Sri Lanka

❌ Fair Wages: Sri Lanka did not revise its minimum wages during the last two years.

Togo

✔ Fair Wages: Togo has revised its minimum wages during the last two years.
✔ Maternity at Work: Togo now protects workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

✔ Decent Working Hours: UAE has restricted maximum working hours, including overtime, to 56 hours per week provided that the maximum working hours cannot exceed 144 hours for every 3-week period.
❌ Employment Security: UAE requires less than 30 days’ notice before employment contract termination.
✔ Social Security: UAE has introduced state-administered unemployment benefits for its workers. Fair Treatment: UAE now prohibits discrimination in employment matters on at least seven of the ten grounds specified in the methodology of the Index.
✔ Fair Treatment: UAE has introduced voluntary coverage protection for self-employed workers.
✔ Child and Forced Labour: UAE prohibits the employment of children in hazardous work under the age of 18 years.

Uzbekistan

✔ Decent Working Hours: Uzbekistan now grants workers the right to enjoy more than three working weeks of paid annual leave.
✔ Fair Treatment: Uzbekistan has also removed restrictions on women’s employment. The law now allows women to work in the same jobs as men.
✔ Freedom of Association: Uzbekistan has removed restrictions on workers’ right to form and join unions of their own choice. The country has also lifted all restrictions on the workers’ right to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions.

Zimbabwe

✔ Fair Treatment: Zimbabwe has mandated equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Global Trends in Labour Rights

The Labour Rights Index tracks the changes in workplace rights during the past two years. However, some countries have enacted regressive and repressive labour legislation, undermining and frustrating workers' rights.

The section describes some major trends before delving into detail at the country level.

Minimum Wages

As per the Labour Rights Index 2024, approximately 94% of (136 of the 145) countries have established statutory or negotiated minimum wage provisions. While two countries (Singapore and South Sudan) lack any minimum wage regulations, seven countries set minimum wages exclusively for nationals or for public sector employees. All 10 newly added countries have statutory minimum wage systems; however, only eight of those revised their minimum wages during the last two years. However, thirty- three countries have received negative scores due to the fact that, despite having statutory minimum wages, these wages have not been revised in the past two years. A notable advancement in this regard is the recent implementation of a non- discriminatory minimum wage policy in Jordan in 2023, following Qatar's introduction of a similar measure in 2020. This policy ensures that all workers, regardless of nationality (or migration status), receive equal minimum wage protection.

Maternity leave

In 2024, a review of 145 countries under the Labour Rights Index revealed that 102 of these countries offer a statutory maternity leave entitlement of 14 weeks. Of the remaining countries, only 14 provide less than 12 weeks of maternity leave, while 29 countries provide maternity leave of 12-13 weeks. This indicates that maternity leave is widely recognised as a fundamental right. In the contemporary world, the primary focus has shifted from whether paternity leave is available to ensuring that maternity leave is accompanied by adequate maternity benefits. Nonetheless, it is essential to implement legislation to prevent employers from imposing disadvantages, such as termination or discrimination due to pregnancy. During the last two years, Angola, Cabo Verde, Malaysia, Oman, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have increased their maternity leave from previous levels though the maternity leave is still lower than 14 weeks in Cabo Verde and the UAE.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave has experienced an upward trend over the past two years. At the time of scoring for the Labour Rights Index (LRI) 2022, only 59 countries provided a statutory right to paid paternity leave of at least seven calendar days for fathers at childbirth. This number has increased to 71 countries in 2024. This rise is partly attributed to the addition of 10 new countries to the index in 2024, among which 4 offer at least seven days of paid paternity leave. Nine countries that did not provide paternity leave in 2022 have now enacted necessary reforms requiring paid paternity of at least seven calendar days. These nine countries are spread across Africa (Cabo Verde, Mozambique, and Rwanda), Asia (Malaysia, Oman and Pakistan), Europe (Malta and Slovakia), and Latin America (Costa Rica).

Additionally, a significant number of countries (35) provide between 1-5 days of paid paternity leave, while the remainder either offer no leave (74 countries) or provide it on an unpaid basis (7 countries). Paternity leave is increasingly gaining traction among legislators, especially in the EU, as societies adapt to the realities of the modern world, where both parents often participate in the workforce. Iran and Oman are the only countries in the MENA region that require paid paternity leave of at least 7 calendar days. Such provisions facilitate a better balance between work and family responsibilities and promote a more equitable distribution of caregiving duties between men and women.

Pregnancy Testing

Though international regulatory standards (C183) prohibit requiring women workers to take pregnancy tests, with a few exceptions related to occupational risks to the worker's or child's health, there are 63 countries where the practice is not prohibited under legislation. Since 2022, Angola, Congo, and Gambia have prohibited pregnancy testing or inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment. This allows women to join the workforce rather than being stopped at the door. Moreover, nine of the ten newly added countries, Ecuador, Eswatini, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, and Tajikistan, either implicitly or explicitly prohibit inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment.

Flexible Work Arrangements

According to the Labour Rights Index 2024, only 53 countries provide some form of flexible working arrangements for workers with family responsibilities. Of these, 34 are European countries. This prevalence is attributable to the EU Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers, which grants all working parents of children up to at least 8 years old, as well as all carers, the right to request flexible working arrangements. These arrangements include reduced working hours, flexible working hours, and flexibility in the place of work.

European societies generally place a strong emphasis on achieving a balance between work and personal life, which has facilitated the widespread adoption of these flexible working arrangements. In contrast, such provisions are notably scarce in developing countries, where achieving a balance between work and family life remains a significant challenge. Even in developed countries outside of Europe, there is a marked disparity in the availability of flexible working arrangements, reflecting the broader emphasis European societies place on fostering work-life balance.

Sexual Harassment

According to the Labour Rights Index, over 80% (118 of the 145) of the countries have established statutory prohibitions against sexual harassment, accompanied by either criminal penalties or civil remedies. Thirteen countries have no provisions for addressing sexual harassment, while fourteen countries only have general prohibitions without any penalties. The implementation of robust sexual harassment laws is essential, as harassment frequently goes unaddressed or is not taken with the requisite seriousness. Enforcing penalties for sexual harassment is critical to ensuring that such conduct is properly deterred and addressed, thereby promoting safer and more respectful work environments. Congo, Indonesia, Jordan and Malaysia have enacted necessary reforms after 2022 to prohibit sexual harassment at work.

Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value

The gender wage gap, the difference between their earnings, expressed as a percentage of men's earnings, is a useful measure to indicate how far behind women are in terms of wages. Women earn, on average, significantly less than men. Globally, the gender wage gap currently stands on average at 23 per cent - meaning that women earn 77 per cent of what men earn for each hour worked. The pay gap is even wider for mothers, women of colour, immigrant women, and disabled women. Legislation requiring equal pay for work of equal value and mandating minimum living wages can help narrow the gender pay gap in a country. Twenty-four countries require equal pay for equal, same or similar work; however, these countries did not get a score since the legislative provisions do not meet the “equal remuneration for work of equal value” standard. scored Three countries, Gambia, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe, have enacted reforms mandating equal pay for work of equal value.

Women’s Access to Same Jobs as Men

In the Labour Rights Index 2024, it is reported that 85 countries have provisions ensuring women have access to the same job opportunities as men. However, labour legislation in nearly half of the countries assessed by the Index imposes restrictions on women’s access to certain occupations under the guise of protection. These restrictions often include prohibitions on night work, the designation of extensive lists of jobs as dangerous or hazardous for women, and bans on women’s employment in sectors such as mining, construction, certain factories, and transportation. Such legislative measures constrain employment opportunities for women, contributing to their concentration in lower-income and lower- productivity jobs. Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan enacted reforms during the last two years, allowing women to work the same jobs as men.

Among the 10 new countries added to the Index, Ecuador, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Sierra Leone, and Taiwan have established provisions that ensure women have access to the same jobs as men.