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Sudan
Wages
In 1991, reliable figures for wages in Sudan were difficult to
obtain. Public sector wages have been generally higher than those
of the privately employed, except in a few large private firms.
Until late 1974 when the Minimum Standard of Wages Order (Presidential
Order No. 21) was issued, there had not been a minimum wage in
the private sector, although in a few occupations such as stevedoring
at Port Sudan, official wage orders had set certain minimums.
The 1974 minimum, established at £Sdl6.50 a month, was equivalent
to the minimum entry wage for public sector jobs. It applied,
however, basically only to workers in establishments having ten
or more employees in the Khartoum area, Al Jazirah, and certain
other urban centers. Its geographical limitations together with
important exemptions--employees below the age of eighteen, all
those in enterprises having fewer than ten workers, seasonal agricultural
workers, and some others-- excluded about three-quarters of all
wage earners. Employers were allowed to raise wages that were
below the minimum to the prescribed level in three steps to be
achieved by October 1977. In 1979 the minimum wage was raised
to £Sd28 a month, and a minimum daily rate of £Sd1.50 was established
for unskilled workers.
In mid-1978, rising inflation and worker unrest led the government
to inaugurate the Job Evaluation and Classification Scheme (JECS),
through which a substantial two-stage increase in public sector
wages was to be effected. Considerable discontent with gradings
appeared to have arisen, and for many people, little improvement
in salaries occurred. One of the problems reportedly was the misjudgments
in the JECS reclassification process that resulted in commitment
of all allocated funds for the program well before the program
had been half completed. In early 1979, members of the domestic
bank workers' union and hospital technicians, among others, carried
out strikes, and in August the powerful 32,000-man Sudan Railway
Workers' Union (SRWU) also walked out. The government promised
SRWU members that they would be given the second half of the JECS
raise, but the strike was ended by the use of armed troops. SRWU
again went on strike in May-June 1981, in part also because of
continued discontent with JECS actions. The strike, which was
also ended by use of the military, was declared illegal and the
union dissolved. Various leaders were arrested. The government
then appointed a preparatory committee to reestablish the SRWU.
Data as of June 1991
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