Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

The Committee notes the Government’s succinct report and wishes to draw its attention to the following points.

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. The Committee has been commenting for several years on section 6(3) of the Labour Standards Act No. 2 of 1977 which gives only partial effect to the requirements of the Convention with regard to the equal representation of the employers and workers concerned in the operation of the minimum wage system. The Government indicates that, as a matter of practice, at the last appointment of a Minimum Wages Advisory Board in 1998, employers and employees were equally represented but no legislative action has as yet been undertaken to amend accordingly the abovementioned provision. The Committee is bound to recall that the principle of consultation and participation of employers’ and workers’ representatives on an equal footing requires an express legislative provision to ensure its application and that reliance on the observance of practice alone does not constitute a sufficient guarantee against possible contravention of such a principle. It therefore asks the Government to take the necessary action without further delay and to keep it informed of any progress made in this respect.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a Minimum Wages Advisory Board was last appointed in 1998, that it ceased to exist following the adoption of its report and that no attempt has been made since to implement its recommendations for increases in wage levels. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s earlier reports, the minimum wage rates for various categories of workers have not been revised since 1989 while the latest Labour Standards (Minimum Wage) Proclamation to have been communicated by the Government was S.R.O. No. 4 of 1980. The Committee takes this opportunity to recall that minimum wage rates may serve a meaningful purpose only if they are adjusted from time to time to take sufficient account of changes in the cost of living and other relevant economic conditions. Considering that the existing minimum wage rates have not been adjusted for 15 years and that in all probability they are no longer sufficient to provide a decent standard of living to workers and their families, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures it intends to take to determine, in consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, new minimum wage levels which would better correspond to the economic and social realities prevailing in the country. In addition, the Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report up-to-date and detailed information on the application of the Convention in practice, including the minimum wage rates in force by sector and occupational category, statistics on the approximate number and different categories of workers covered by relevant legislation, extracts from labour inspection reports showing the number of infringements and sanctions imposed as well as any other particulars bearing on the functioning of the minimum wage fixing machinery.