IS THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSENSUS AD IDEM IN THE NEGOTIATION OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS TENABLE UNDER THE 1992 CAMEROON LABOUR CODE?
Keywords:
Consensus ad idem, Negotiation, Contract of EmploymentAbstract
A prominent requirement for the legitimacy of a contract of employment is agreement of the parties to the contract. Since mutuality lies in the heart of any enforceable agreement, a contract of employment requires a meeting of the minds of the parties on all essential matters relating to it (consensus ad idem) for its validity. Therefore, the principle of consensus ad idem in the negotiation of contracts of employments implies that it is based on the decisions of two free and voluntary consenting minds. In this regard, even though section 23(2) of the 1992 Cameroon Labour Code guarantees the free negotiation of employment contracts, the practical implementation of the provisions of the latter remain problematic. One is mindful of the fact that true consensus ad idem can only be attained in the job place where the parties are strong enough to stand on their feet to realise their wills through free negotiations with equal bargaining power. Given the economic situation of a country like Cameroon where the bulk of people of working ages are unemployed, equality in negotiating employment terms remains a myth; thus contracts are negotiated on ‘a take it or leave it basis’. Besides, the fact that a contract of employment is a contract in personam requiring subordination of the worker to the employer during the performance of the contract defeats the whole notion of consensus ad idem as envisaged in section 23(2) of the 1992 Labour Code. To this end, the paper seeks to examine the principle of consensus ad idem in the negotiation of employment contracts as is confectioned under the 1992 Cameroon Labour Code and the extent of its application in Cameroon. In this light, the researcher adopted an in-depth content analysis and critical evaluation of the primary and secondary sources of data. This research concludes that the 1992 Cameroon Labour Code guarantees the principle of consensus ad idem in the negotiation of employment contracts, but its effective implementation leaves much to be desired. This has necessitated the suggestion of some policy recommendations for the way forward.
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