Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Article 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage-fixing machinery. The Committee notes with interest the recent developments concerning the fixing of the minimum wage, in particular Decree No. 079/2002 of 3 July 2002, section 4 of which sets out the social and economic criteria which must be taken into consideration for the fixing of the minimum guaranteed interoccupational wage and section 10 of which provides for the setting up of a tripartite committee responsible for periodically studying the relationship between the general consumer price index and wage levels with a view to permitting the annual revision of the minimum wage.

Furthermore, the Committee notes the adoption of Ordinance No. 08/04 of 30 April 2008 fixing the minimum guaranteed interoccupational wage, which sets the minimum wage rate at FC1,680 per day (approximately US$4) as from 1 January 2009, namely an increase of 500 per cent in relation to the rate previously fixed at FC335 per day (approximately US$0.8), pursuant to Decree No. 080/2002 of 3 July 2002. The Committee understands that the re-evaluation of the minimum wage was decided at the 3rd extraordinary session of the National Labour Council (CNT), taking account of companies’ capacity for payment and the deterioration in workers’ purchasing power since the fixing of the minimum wage in 2002.

In this regard, the Committee recalls that the periodic adjustment of the minimum wage rate, as a social protection measure aimed at ensuring a satisfactory living standard for workers and their families, might not produce specific results unless it is accompanied by supervisory measures and penalties enabling the effective application of legislation on minimum wages to be guaranteed in practice. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would supply with its next report up to date information on the results of labour inspections and also statistics on the numbers and various categories of workers covered by the legislation on the minimum wage. The Committee hopes that the Government will do its utmost to gather and communicate the information requested under Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions adopted by the ILO Governing Body on the basis of the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). The Governing Body considered that Convention No. 26 was one of the instruments which were no longer up to date, even though they were still relevant in certain regards. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government examine the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which represents a degree of progress in comparison with previous instruments concerning the fixing of a minimum wage, for example by providing for a wider scope, the setting up of a general minimum wage system and, finally, the adoption of certain criteria for determining minimum wage levels. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or contemplated in this regard.