Algeria's Legal Framework for People of Working-Age

The overall unemployment rate in Algeria has declined considerably over the last decade falling from 30 per cent in 2000 to 10 per cent in 2010, and continued to decline to less than 10 per cent in 2015. Youth unemployment is still high and has steadily increased since 2009, up to 21.5 per cent in 2012 but declined to 20 per cent in 2014. In order to address unemployment, the Government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria adopted constitutional amendments in 1996 that guarantee the rights of working-age residents to adequate income security.

Article 5 of the amended 1989 Constitution states that “all citizens have right to work, the right to protection, security and hygiene at work as guaranteed by the law” and the right to rest. Constitutional provisions strengthened the 1994 Legislative Decree No. 94-09, which established an unemployment insurance scheme safeguarding Algeria’s working age population against the risk of involuntarily loss of employment for economic reasons. The constitutional amendment was followed by further legislative provisions, which stipulated the institutional restructuring of the contributory unemployment scheme, and to extend its coverage through the country, through the Chapter IV Rights and Liberties and Legislative Decree of 3 May 1996.

1996 constitutional developments towards social protection in Algeria were deliberated during a two-day national conference in which 38 leaders gathered and agreed to support amendments through a referendum. The constitutional and legislative legal frameworks supporting the income security of working-age groups in Algeria ensure the sustainability of unemployment insurance schemes already in place. Through this process the Government of Algeria has acted boldly to uphold equality and ensure that constitutional and legal provisions for income security form strong legal foundations for the creation of a social protection floor.