The guaranteed inter professional minimum wage in Cameroon is now set at 41,875 francs.

On February 8, 2023, at the end of the 24th session of the National Consultative Labour Commission, held between the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Grégoire Owona and several leaders of trade unions, the two parties unanimously approved the guaranteed minimum wage at 41,875 F, an increase of 5,605 FCFA on the previous minimum wage which was then 36,270 FCFA). This increase was suggested by the government on 31 January as a social measure following the increase in fuel prices at the stations.

Initially, the aspirations of the trade unions were much higher. Isaac Bissala, president of the General Union of Workers of Cameroon , leader of this protest, promised to join forces during the said consultation so that the increase proposed by the government is unanimously rejected. “The minimum wage will not be 41,875 FCFA. You can be sure of that,“.

Despite this consensual increase in the minimum wage, Cameroon remains second to last in the CEMAC just ahead of the Central African Republic (36,000 CFA francs). A reality that contrasts with its status as an “economic giant” of the sub-region with an industrial fabric deemed diversified. Indeed, the best minimum wage rates in the CEMAC region are 128,000 CFA francs for Equatorial Guinea, 90,000 CFA francs for Congo, 80,000 CFA francs for Gabon and 60,000 CFA francs for Chad.

For the record, the last increase in the minimum wage in Cameroon was in 2014. It was previously 28,000 CFA francs, and was raised to 36,270 CFA francs, an increase of 8,270 CFA francs, after consultations between employers’ and workers’ organisations.