Employment law
Staff representatives in Mali: elect, meet, protect
October, at Huilerie du Sahel, in Ségou. The presses are running flat out for the cottonseed season, and the staff delegates’ term of office ends in a month. The director has to organise the election, reply to the union that wants to set up a committee, and has just received a request to dismiss a delegate. Three files, three different regimes.
Huilerie du Sahel and the people mentioned in this article are fictitious: they are used as examples only.
1. What exactly are we talking about?
Huilerie du Sahel is an industrial establishment with 80 employees. It comes under three staff representation bodies, each organised in its own way by the Labour Code:
| Body | Appointment | Threshold | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff delegates | Elected by employees for three years | More than 10 workers | Present grievances |
| Union delegates | Appointed by a representative union | 11 regular employees | Represent the union |
| Health and safety committee | Representatives elected like staff delegates | 50 employees (industry), 100 (others) | Prevent accidents |
Staff delegates are elected in every establishment with more than ten workers, for three years (Labour Code, article L.265). They present individual or collective grievances to the employer, refer matters to the labour inspector and watch over health, safety and social security (article L.278).
Union delegates represent their union to the head of the company. A union committee may be set up by any representative union in a company or establishment regularly employing eleven employees (Labour Code, article L.258). Union delegates must have been with the company for one year (article L.261).
The health and safety committee is compulsory in industrial establishments with at least 50 employees and in others with at least 100 workers; the labour inspector may require it below these thresholds for dangerous work (Labour Code, article L.280).
Why these bodies? They give staff an organised channel to express themselves, and give the employer identified contacts.
The most common mistake
Believing that union delegates are elected, and that they are compulsory like staff delegates. They are appointed by their union, and the union committee is an option for the union, not an obligation for the employer.
Staff delegates are elected by employees. Union delegates are appointed by their union.
2. Organising the election of staff delegates
The head of the establishment is responsible for organising the elections and ensuring they run properly (article L.268). The number of delegates depends on the headcount (article L.266):
| Headcount of the establishment | Full and substitute delegates |
|---|---|
| 11 to 25 workers | 1 full delegate and 1 substitute |
| 26 to 50 workers | 2 full delegates and 2 substitutes |
| 51 to 100 workers | 3 full delegates and 3 substitutes |
| 101 to 250 workers | 5 full delegates and 5 substitutes |
With 80 employees, Huilerie du Sahel therefore elects three full delegates and three substitutes. The procedure is set by Order No. 96-1566 of 7 October 1996:
- announce by letter to the unions the intention to organise the elections, with a copy to the labour inspectorate, and set the date after agreement with the unions (article A.267.9);
- post the notice of election at least 15 days before the vote; the union lists are filed at least 4 days before and posted at least 3 days before;
- hold a secret ballot in envelopes, by electoral college, with a two-round list vote and proportional representation (article A.267.11);
- hold a second round within 15 days if fewer than half of registered voters took part; lists other than union lists may then be put forward (article A.267.13);
- send two copies of the report to the labour inspector within three clear days, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (article L.268).
Voters are workers aged 18 with six months’ service; candidates must be 21 with twelve months’ uninterrupted service and able to express themselves in French, excluding close relatives of the head of the company (articles A.267.5 and A.267.6). Disputes are heard by the president of the labour court (article L.269).
What failing to hold an election costs
Failing to organise the election exposes the employer to a fine of XOF 10,000 to 18,000, raised to XOF 100,000 for a repeat offence (article L.330). Above all, without delegates, the employer deprives itself of the contact the Code provides for the internal rules (article L.65) or economic dismissals (article L.47).
What you need to do
- Start the procedure by writing to the unions at least one month before terms of office end.
- Keep a written timetable of the deadlines: notice at 15 days, lists filed at 4 days, posting at 3 days.
- Send the report to the labour inspector within three clear days.
3. Keeping the bodies running day to day
The head of the establishment allows staff delegates the time they need for their duties, up to 15 hours a month except in exceptional circumstances. These delegation hours are paid as working time (Labour Code, article L.271). Union delegates and representatives on the health and safety committee are entitled to the same time (articles L.263 and L.281).
Example. The three full delegates at Huilerie du Sahel are paid XOF 1,300 an hour and use all their hours.
Delegation hours: 3 delegates × 15 hours = 45 hours per month
Maximum cost: 45 × 1,300 = XOF 58,500 per month, paid as working time
The employer provides them with a room and the necessary furniture (article L.272) and notice boards (article L.273). It meets them collectively at least once a month, and at their request in an emergency (article L.274). The health and safety committee meets at least once a quarter and after any serious accident; meeting time is not deducted from the delegates’ hours (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, article D.282-5).
What you need to do
- Set a monthly date for meeting the delegates and keep minutes.
- Pay delegation hours as working time, without deduction.
- Hold a health and safety committee meeting every quarter and record its work in its register.
4. Protecting: no dismissal without the labour inspector
The labour inspector’s authorisation is required before any dismissal of a staff delegate, full or substitute (Labour Code, article L.277). Silence for fifteen days counts as authorisation; the period becomes thirty days if the inspector considers an expert assessment necessary.
This protection covers candidates, from the posting of lists until the ballot, elected delegates until the next elections, and former delegates for six months after their term ends. It extends to union delegates (article L.263) and to staff representatives on the health and safety committee (article L.281).
What an unlawful dismissal costs
A dismissal made without this authorisation is automatically null and void: the delegate is restored to their rights and reinstated (article L.277). In the event of gross misconduct, the employer may only impose a provisional lay-off pending the decision; if authorisation is refused, the lay-off has no effect.
Interfering with the free appointment of delegates or with the proper performance of their duties is also punishable by a fine of XOF 100,000 to 500,000 and imprisonment of one month to one year, or one of these penalties (Labour Code, article L.331). This is known as the offence of obstruction.
What you need to do
- Refer to the labour inspector before any termination affecting a delegate, a candidate or a former delegate within six months.
- In the event of gross misconduct, impose only a provisional lay-off pending the decision.
5. A closer look: elections every year or every three years?
The 1996 order provides that the election takes place “every year” in the month before terms of office expire (article A.267.8). Law No. 2017-021 has since set the term of office at three years (article L.265). The law prevails: the election takes place every three years, in the month before terms end.
Similarly, the order provides for sending the report “within a week”, whereas the Code requires it to be sent within three clear days (article L.268). Meet the shorter deadline.
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Elect staff delegates in every establishment with more than ten workers, for three years.
- Distinguish staff delegates, who are elected, from union delegates, who are appointed by a representative union.
- Set up a health and safety committee from 50 employees in industry, 100 in other sectors.
- Follow the election timetable and send the report to the inspector within three clear days.
- Pay up to 15 delegation hours a month as working time and meet the delegates every month.
- Obtain the labour inspector’s authorisation before dismissing any protected representative.