Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

The Committee notes the report provided by the Government and requests it to supply the necessary information on the following points.

Article 4, in conjunction with Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the indication in the Government’s report that the enforcement of legal provisions respecting minimum wages is the responsibility of the labour inspection services among other responsible bodies. However, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide the extracts of labour inspection reports requested in its previous direct request and it once again asks the Government to supply them with its next report. In particular, the Committee calls on the Government to provide detailed information regarding supervision of the application of the Convention in practice in home-working trades.

Article 5. With regard to the minimum wage rates in force in the country, the Committee notes that the Government refers to Decree No. 94-383/P-RM of 2 December 1994 fixing the minimum guaranteed inter-occupational wage and the minimum guaranteed agricultural wage at CFA 13,465 francs (for 173 hours) and CFA 13,515 francs per month (for 208 hours), respectively. Nevertheless, the Committee understands that these rates have been adjusted since then and requests the Government to provide with its next report copies of the legislative instruments establishing the minimum wage rates currently in force, including where appropriate, information on the trades to which the national regulations on the SMIG are not applicable. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s report, collective and workplace agreements concluded between employers’ and workers’ organizations are a means by which minimum wages are determined. In the absence of such agreements, laws and regulations are regularly adopted to increase the wages that are fixed where joint committees and employers’ and workers’ organizations do not meet regularly to adjust wages to the cost of living. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information on wage negotiations in the various sectors and the text of any recent collective agreements fixing minimum wage rates. Furthermore, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the operation of the Higher Labour Council, and particularly the opinions it has issued in relation to the determination of the minimum wage rates applicable.

Finally, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain the information requested on the number of workers covered by minimum wage regulations, its failure to do so probably being a result of the lack of labour statisticians in the labour administration. The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort, as it undertook to do, particularly through contacts with the various competent departments, such as the Employment and Training Observatory, with a view to compiling such information and forwarding it to the International Labour Office with its next report.