Employment law
Which collective agreement applies to my company, and where can I find it?
In the Bakoro Froid workshop, two technicians are dismantling an air conditioner while, in the shop, a customer haggles over the price of a new unit. In the office, the accountant has to calculate a technician’s seniority bonus and runs into a question he had never asked: based on which minimum wage, and from which agreement? Choosing the wrong agreement, or applying none, means building up pay gaps that every employee can claim back over three years.
1. What exactly are we talking about?
Bakoro Froid is a fictitious company with 27 employees in Bamako that sells, installs and services air conditioners: its name and situation are used purely as an example.
A collective agreement is a written agreement on working conditions, concluded between one or more workers’ unions and one or more employers’ organisations, or individual employers (Labour Code, article L.70). It may improve on the law, but never go below its public-policy rules (same article).
Its value is very concrete. Agreements eligible for extension must in particular set job classifications, wages by category, overtime rates, seniority bonuses, and the length of the probationary and notice periods (article L.79). And the seniority bonus is calculated on the minimum wage of the worker’s job category (article L.97).
Why this system? Because a single Code cannot set the minimum wage of a machine operator, a bank cashier and a journalist. Each sector negotiates its own pay scales.
“The Code gives the common rules. The agreement gives the figures for your trade.”
On the place of the collective agreement among the other texts, see Law, agreements, internal rules, contract: which rule prevails?
2. Three ways to be bound by an agreement
An agreement does not apply because it exists, but because the employer is bound by it. The Code provides for three situations.
| Situation | Are you bound? | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| You signed the agreement, or you are a member of a signatory employers’ organisation | Yes, for all the contracts you conclude | Article L.77 |
| You acceded to an agreement in force, by written notice to the labour court registry | Yes | Articles L.75 and L.77 |
| The agreement has been extended by decree to its whole scope | Yes, even without signing or acceding to it | Article L.82 |
The third case is the least known. Extension is the State’s decision to make an agreement compulsory for all employers and workers within its scope (Labour Code, article L.82). The draft extension is published in the Official Gazette, together with the full text of the agreement (article L.84).
Once bound, the employer applies the agreement to all the employment contracts it concludes, unless a contract clause is more favourable to the employee (Labour Code, article L.77).
The most common mistake
Thinking you are not concerned because you signed nothing. Membership of a signatory employers’ organisation, or an extension decree, is enough to bind you.
What you need to do
- Check whether your company, or an employers’ organisation you belong to, has signed or acceded to an agreement.
- Find out whether your sector’s agreement has been extended by decree.
- State the applicable collective agreement in every employment contract.
3. Mixed activities: finding the right sector
Each agreement defines its own scope (article L.70): the activities, and sometimes the areas, it covers. The method is therefore to compare the company’s actual activity with the scope written into each candidate agreement.
Bakoro Froid sells air conditioners, installs them and services them. Three activities, three leads: retail, construction, mechanical engineering. In practice, the main activity is used, the one that accounts for most of the staff and turnover. At Bakoro, 20 of the 27 employees are installation and maintenance technicians: that is where to look.
The Code also reasons by establishment: in any establishment within the scope of an agreement, its provisions apply to individual contracts, unless a provision is more favourable (article L.77). A company whose establishments carry out different activities may therefore have to ask the question establishment by establishment.
And if no agreement binds you? You can accede to your sector’s agreement (article L.75). For relocated and foreign workers, the contract must in fact state the applicable agreement or, failing that, the regulations governing the profession (article L.27).
After a takeover or merger, the question arises again for the new employer: see Company sold or merged: what happens to employment contracts?
The most common mistake
Choosing the agreement with the lowest minimum wages. An agreement is not chosen for its pay scales: it follows from the activity carried out and the employer’s commitments.
What you need to do
- Describe the main activity of each establishment in one sentence.
- Read the “scope” article of the agreements in your sector.
- Have your analysis confirmed by the labour inspectorate if in doubt.
4. Where to find the text of your agreement
A collective agreement is not a confidential document. The Code organises its publicity in several places.
| Where to look | What you will find | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Labour court registry | The agreement filed after approval, its amendments, accessions and terminations | Articles L.74 and L.75 |
| Ministry of Labour (National Labour Directorate) | Two copies of each agreement filed, and information on accessions and amendments | Articles L.74 and L.76 |
| Official Gazette | The full text of agreements proposed for extension | Article L.84 |
Filing has a practical consequence: the agreement applies from the day after it is filed with the registry, unless otherwise stipulated (Labour Code, article L.74). The Ministry of Labour also publishes several agreements online, including those for construction and public works, the press, community health centres and Catholic private education.
As a guide, the agreements cited as in force also cover retail (the federal collective agreement for commerce), oil companies, food industries, mining, metalworking and general mechanical engineering, security and guarding, banks, financial institutions and insurance, hotels, freight forwarding and retail pharmacy. This list is not exhaustive. See also our article on the Collective agreement for metalworking and general mechanical engineering.
The most common mistake
Working from an old copy, without the amendments or the latest pay scales. Amendments are drawn up, filed and notified under the same conditions as the original agreement (article L.74): the up-to-date version is obtained from the registry and the National Labour Directorate.
What you need to do
- Ask the labour court registry or the National Labour Directorate for the up-to-date version of your agreement.
- Also obtain the amendments and the latest pay scales.
- Make the text available to the payroll department and the staff delegates.
5. What an ignored agreement costs
Ignoring the agreement does not make it go away. The employee can claim the difference between what they received and what the agreement guaranteed, over three years: claims for payment of wages and wage supplements are time-barred after three years (Labour Code, article L.118). The limitation period is the deadline after which a sum can no longer be claimed in court.
Example. Suppose the applicable agreement sets the minimum wage for Bakoro’s technician category at 110,000 XOF, while Bakoro pays them 95,000 XOF (fictitious amounts):
Monthly gap: 110,000 − 95,000 = 15,000 XOF Over three years: 15,000 × 36 months = 540,000 XOF per technician For 20 technicians: 540,000 × 20 = 10,800,000 XOF
Criminal penalties come on top. Failing to apply an agreement you are bound by is punishable by a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 XOF, rising to 20,000 to 100,000 XOF for a repeat offence (article L.316). The fine is incurred as many times as there are offences, in particular when several workers are affected (article L.335). The labour inspector may also collect an on-the-spot fixed fine of 17,000 XOF (Order No. 1566/MEFPT-SG of 7 October 1996, article A.296.1).
To avoid these gaps, the applicable pay scale must in fact be displayed where wages are paid: see Which documents must the employer display?
What you need to do
- Compare each basic salary with the agreement’s minimum for the employee’s category.
- Recalculate the seniority bonus on the minimum wage of the job category.
- Correct the gaps without waiting for a claim: every month that passes adds to the bill.
A closer look: when no agreement applies
Some activities have no agreement, or none binds the employer. The Code has provided for this gap: a decree may regulate working conditions for a profession or sector (Labour Code, article L.86), and set minimum wages by category (article L.96).
Domestic staff are the example. Their employment and pay conditions are set by Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996 (articles D.86-1 to D.86-40), adopted under article L.86: seven job categories, a one-month probationary period renewable once, one week or fifteen days of notice depending on length of service. This decree takes the place of an agreement. See Domestic workers: contract, hours, pay, leave.
Finally, where there is no agreement, the company may conclude a company or establishment agreement with its staff delegates and the most representative unions (article L.88).
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Identify the agreement from the actual activity of each establishment, never from the cost of its pay scales.
- Check the three routes: signature, accession directly or through your employers’ organisation, extension decree.
- Obtain the up-to-date version, with amendments and pay scales, from the labour court registry or the National Labour Directorate.
- Bring each basic salary up to the agreement’s minimum for the employee’s category.
- Calculate the seniority bonus on the minimum wage of the job category.
- Where there is no agreement, apply the Code and its decrees, and consider an establishment agreement.