Landeanalyse på engelsk: Niger

Kilde: Ulandssekretariatet, april 2010

Political situation
The last year has been characterized by dramatic political developments in Niger. After almost a decade of political stability and some economic progress, the situation was reversed in 2009.
With a view to the termination of his second mandate, President Tandja, who was elected president for the first time in 1999 after a successful transition to democracy and again in 2004, sought a constitutional amendment in April 2009 to overturn a provision in the constitution banning him from standing for a third term. The amendment was twice ruled illegal by the Constitutional Court. Hereafter Tandja took steps to dissolve first the Constitutional Court and then Parliament and assumed emergency powers. A so-called referendum was held in August on the new constitution which would allow Tandja to extend his term for another three years without a vote. Tandja won a landslide victory. The new constitution was, thus, adopted, and the new 6th Republic introduced. The opposition has claimed that the referendum was unlawful and the result rigged and that Tandja in reality had committed a coup d’état.
From the very beginning trade unions with our partner the USTN have been in front in the opposition against Tandja’s steps. Trade unions joined with opposition political parties and civil society and carried out huge demonstrations and strikes. Tandja even tried to manipulate and split unions by offering leaders and executive members special favours which at some point resulted in a split in the trade union alliance.
In October Tandja carried out parliamentary elections which were boycotted by the opposition. Tandja’s party, thus, won a huge victory. Local elections were held at the end of December with a very low participation. The elections and Tandja’s steps were condemned internationally. The EU and the US froze their huge economic support to Niger. Denmark also halted any further aid to the country. More than half of Niger’s state budget is financed by external aid. These steps, thus, had a most serious impact on the poor country.
In November political talks between Tandja and the opposition including trade union representatives were initiated in Nigeria under the auspices of ECOWAS and with the former Nigerian president Aboubacar as mediator. The talks didn’t result in any solution. They were resumed in Niger at the end of December without results. 
On February 18 2010 the military carried out a coup and removed Tandja from power. The coup was acclaimed by the opposition and big demonstrations in favour of the coup took place in Niamey. An interim government with military and civil representatives has been established. The objective is to prepare a new constitution and secure a return to democracy and the rule of law. It is still unclear when such a return to democracy can take place.
This huge landlocked country with some 15 million inhabitants is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last out of the 182 countries in UNDP’s Human Development Index 2009. 61% of the population live in extreme poverty on less than one dollar a day. The GNI per capita is estimated at 330 USD (World Bank 2008). GDP growth has been highly volatile but low on average (some 3%) and outpaced by the population growth (estimated at 3.4% in 2008). Life expectancy at birth is 50.8.
The population is mostly rural, 82.40%, as against 17.60% urban. The average population density was 8.5 inhabitants per km in 2001. The population of Niger is characterised by a large proportion of under-15 years old who represent 49% of the labour force, which makes Niger one of the youngest countries of the world.

Labour market and informal economy in Niger
The labour market is characterised by high unemployment and underemployment. The general unemployment rate is 15.9%. It is more pronounced in the urban areas with 19.4% compared to 15.2% in the rural areas. Women are the worst hit by the unemployment at the rate of 25% as against 12% for men. The most vulnerable are people with a relatively low level of education. Besides the underemployment rate is very high; 34.62% for women and 32.93% for men. Underemployment mainly affects the rural population (86.3%), due to the seasonal nature of farm work.
In addition, child labourers represent more than 15% of the working population. This situation is due in part to the poverty that pushes households to hold their children out of school, which results in a less-skilled workforce and engenders a vicious circle of poverty. For instance, 57.6% of children who have no education are economically active.
The continuing imbalance between labour supply and demand is attributable to two factors: strong demographic growth and the structural inadequacy of supply. The latter is due, among other things, to obsolete production techniques, particularly in the rural sector, to the embryonic state of the secondary sector and to the disorganisation of the informal economy.
Recruitment in the public service which, for a long time was frozen, has resumed in a very timid way.
It is estimated that some 90-95% of the population have to find a way of surviving in the rapidly growing informal economy, especially in the transport, trade, construction and service sectors. Employment in these sectors is precarious, less qualified, and less productive with very low revenue.
Persistent economic crisis in the 1980s and 1990s which provoked the extension of poverty to 2/3 of the unemployed population including the under-employed are important factors that have maintained and expanded the informality. Other factors such as rural-urban migration, the devaluation of the franc CFA and its accompanying financial crisis and the inability of the formal sector to employ young graduates have also contributed to the expansion of the informal economy. Also, the inadequacy of formal sector salaries and the high cost of living have obliged workers to look for additional income by working in the informal economy.
Workers in the informal economy have low or no coverage of social security, job insecurity, and income insecurity and hence, they cannot assert their right to decent work. The legislation governing employment relations on one hand and the rights and protection of workers on the other hand is not open to the workers in the informal economy.  They also have no form of representation and the right to express their grievances or demands openly. As a result, whenever they lose their job or in case the small enterprise collapses they do not get any indemnity from redundancy.
As the main component of Niger’s population (31% of the total), the youths (15 to 35 years old), are left to themselves and prey to a multidimensional crisis characterized by unemployment, underemployment, illiteracy, begging, delinquency, exodus, immigration and low participation in development activities, various diseases, including STI/HIV/AIDS, violence, etc.
In Niger, the national trade union center, USTN has a total of 40 affiliated unions of which 14 are informal economy unions. The informal economy unions have a total membership of some 10,000 constituting 25% of the total membership of 40,000 of the USTN. It is estimated that women members make up 51% of the total membership.
Actors in the informal economy who have been organized by USTN are: independent workers, employees, apprentices and family workers. Their activities are mainly in the areas of production such as agricultural workers and peasant farmers, shepherds; services such as caterers, hairdressers, dressmakers, tie & die makers and transport drivers; and commerce such as food stuff sellers, jewelers and cloth sellers.
To integrate these workers under the structures of the USTN, a federation of informal economy unions was formed and affiliated to the national centre, USTN. However, there are some informal economy unions who do not belong to the federation but are affiliated directly to the national centre.