Introduction

A salaried employee is a person who regularly receives a wage, meaning a remuneration or benefit in exchange for their services. A wage should be continuous (as long as the employee provides services), permanent, and agreed upon with the employer, while also reflecting a balance between the service rendered and the compensation due. However, employees continue to face real challenges regarding wage equity (I) and regularity of payment (II).

The Problem of Wage Equity

In Cameroon, the National Collective Agreement establishes salary scales for the private sector. This scale takes into account the level of education, the position held (executive, technical staff, operational staff, etc.), and seniority. For example, a holder of a Bachelor’s degree should be better paid than someone with a BTS. It also sets that an operational employee may earn between 60,000–200,000 FCFA/month, while a senior executive earns between 300,000–1,500,000 FCFA/month. In practice, however, there are employees earning more than colleagues with higher qualifications: executives earning less than their subordinates, or employees being paid below the guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG), which is set at 41,875 FCFA for 40 hours/week in 2025. These dysfunctions are partly due to the fact that salaries are often negotiated individually when contracts are signed, without adhering to the official scale or its benchmarks.

Insecurities Due to Irregularities

Wage irregularities in Cameroon’s private sector are widespread. Among the most glaring are wage underpayments, often driven by employers’ desire to maximize profits and minimize costs. Irregular payments also occur, including delayed payments, non-payment, or arbitrary suspension (partial or total) of wages. Often, managers use the false pretext of employee indiscipline to withhold wages as a form of punishment, in violation of labour law.

Conclusion

Ultimately, all these wage-related grievances place employees in a state of insecurity. These are threats not only to their financial security but also to their rights, which are constantly violated. That said, employees share some responsibility: by refusing to inform themselves about their rights, they give unscrupulous employers an opportunity to exploit their ignorance. Labor Day (May 1st) should therefore be an occasion to focus on understanding workers’ rights and to limit abuses.