There are currently no nascent insurrections, belligerent neighbors or other politically-motivated destabilizing activities in Mauritania. The mass exodus from rural to urban areas, combined with the low economic growth rate and a poorly educated, youthful population are, in part, the causes of the high unemployment level. The GIRM's restraint in hiring new civil servants, the stagnation of jobs in the private sector, and over-qualification for jobs in the informal sector are among the causes of graduates' unemployment. The Constitution provides for freedom of association and the right of citizens to join any political or labor organization. All workers except members of the military and police are free to associate in and establish unions at the local and national levels.
Workers have the right to strike, but work stoppages are generally rare and are settled quickly.
Conferederation of Free Mauritanian Workers. The most recent agreement, the 1974 Collective Labor Convention, still in force, established a broad array of employee benefits, including fully paid maternity leave. The standard workweek is 40 hours or five days and half, except for banks, household and other special categories of workers. The minimum wage statute is based on a system of job classification defined in the labor code. These wages are revised periodically after agreement between the trade union confederations, the CGEM, and Government.