ALGIERS – Saturday, 18 November 2023 (APS) – Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Fayçal Bentaleb, highlighted on Saturday Algeria’s efforts to promote trade union freedoms, improve workers’ conditions and prevent collective disputes in the workplace.
Chairing the opening session of the 12th Congress of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OUSA), held at the Abdelatif-Rahal International Conference Centre (CIC) in Algiers, the Minister said that Algeria was ” experiencing ongoing social and economic reforms, led by the 2020 Constitution, which enshrines more individual and collective rights and freedoms, including the free exercise of trade union rights.”
In this regard, the Minister referred to “the implementation of numerous revisions to national legislation relating to the promotion of trade union freedom, the protection of trade union delegates and workers’ conditions, the improvement of industrial relations and the prevention of collective conflicts in the workplace.”
“Algeria is working to consolidate the mechanisms for economic recovery, by promoting investment and partnerships to achieve equitable development, to create an environment conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly for young people and women, and to develop small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups with a view to achieving progress,” he added.
He further recalled a series of social measures decided by President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, aimed at protecting the purchasing power of citizens and supporting people on low incomes.
As part of the national approach to extending social security cover, reducing informal activity and integrating it into the formal sector, Bentaleb said that “the number of people registered with the social security system had reached 409,017 by the end of September 2023, compared with 393,367 by the end of September 2022.”
The number of beneficiaries of social security cover under the National Social Security Fund for Salaried Workers (CNAS) and the National Social Security Fund for Non-Salaried Workers (CASNOS) had exceeded 29 million, according to the Minister.