Article 102 of the 2015 Mining Code gives preference to the employment of nationals in mining companies and their subcontractors. Under this article, mining title or authorisation holders, their suppliers and their subcontractors shall give priority to employing Burkinabè managers with the skills required for the efficient conduct of mining operations, with equal qualifications and without distinction as to gender. According to this article of the Code, “The company is required to respect progressive quotas of local jobs according to the different levels of responsibility”. It specifies that a decree issued by the Council of Ministers shall establish the nomenclature of positions and the quotas of local jobs required according to the life cycle of the mine. Since 2017, Burkina Faso, through the Ministry of Mines, has had a draft decree on the nomenclature of positions and local employment quotas. The decree was finally adopted by the Council of Ministers on 6 September 2023.
According to the government: “This decree aims to combat unemployment, improve training and skills acquisition for workers in the mining sector, promote access for nationals to certain positions of responsibility and regulate access for expatriates to the national employment market”.
The decree requires compliance with the national employment quota at each stage of the mining project. From research to closure, construction and operation, the government now has a tool for monitoring the presence of nationals in the mining sector. For example, mines and their subcontractors are required to recruit 100% nationals for all job cycles. In the past, abuses have been detected. Mining companies have employed expatriates as fuel pump attendants to the detriment of nationals, but the government had no means of constraint.
However, to facilitate nationals’ access to mining jobs, the Mining Code has made other provisions. It requires mining companies to submit to the Mining Administration a training plan for local managers to gradually replace expatriate staff. For monitoring purposes, the Ministry of Mines receives an annual report on the extent to which companies have complied with the requirements for training, employment and promotion of local staff. The employment contracts of non-national workers in the mining sector are approved by the Labour Administration, under the conditions specified by joint order of the Ministers of Labour and Mines.
The rigorous application of the provisions of the Mining Code and this new decree, together with strict monitoring by the mining and employment authorities, will make it possible to increase the employability of nationals in the mines, develop their skills, build up a national skills base and gradually prepare for the succession of expatriates.
Elie KABORE
#Mines_Actu_Burkina
PH: Ministry of Mines
