Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

The Committee notes the observations made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) concerning the application of the Convention. The ICFTU alleges that essentially due to poor enforcement and monitoring, the majority of workers, in particular migrant workers, fail to get the legal minimum wage. According to the ICFTU, factory managers often falsify time cards and payroll records to avoid paying the legal minimums while cases of non-payment and unlawful wage deductions are also too common, and tend to reduce to sub-minimum levels the income even of those who are nominally paid above the minimum wage rate. The ICFTU also indicates that the extremely high proportion of workers without formal contracts means that tens of millions of workers do not benefit from minimum wage regulations. It further observes that in the majority of cases workers are unaware of the minimum wage rates applicable to them, or confused by various piece rates or complicated calculations of hourly rates. As regards the role of workers’ organizations, the ICFTU considers that the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is not a genuine trade union and cannot negotiate properly and independently with private business and the Government. While recognizing recent improvements in the legal framework concerning the calculation and enforcement of minimum wages, the ICFTU deplores the insufficient monitoring of enterprises to ensure compliance, the limited means of legal redress available to workers and the state secrecy which prevents access to clear, accurate and transparent statistics. The Committee invites the Government to transmit its comments on the points raised in the communication of the ICFTU so that these may be examined in detail at its next session.

The Committee is also addressing a request on certain other points directly to the Government.