Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. Consultation and participation of employers and workers. The Committee has been commenting for many years on section 4 of the Wages and Conditions of Employment Tribunals Act of 1976 which, contrary to the Wages Tribunal Ordinance of 1952, does not provide for equal representation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the wages tribunals. The Government has indicated on several occasions that, in practice, employers’ and workers’ representatives have always participated in equal numbers in the operation of minimum wage fixing bodies but gave assurances that the relevant provision in the legislation would still be amended to give effect to the provisions of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee wishes to stress that the requirement for genuine and effective consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations and their participation in equal numbers and on equal terms in the minimum wage fixing process is a key element of the Convention. The Committee trusts that the Government will provide in its next report full particulars on the effect given to the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention, in law and practice.

In addition, the Committee notes with regret that the information contained in the Government’s reports is often fragmentary, undocumented and fails to give a comprehensive picture of the minimum wage system in the country. The Committee understands that minimum wage rates are fixed: (i) at the national level under the Minimum Wage Act of 1974, as amended, for enterprises employing more than ten employees; (ii) by wages tribunals under the Wages and Conditions of Employment Tribunals Act of 1976 for specific categories of workers; and (iii) through collective bargaining. The Committee also understands that the national monthly minimum wage was set at 200 Sudanese pounds (approximately US$100) in 2006 against 162.5 Sudanese pounds (approximately US$81) in 2005 and 125 (approximately US$62) in 2004. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify in its next report whether the different minimum wage fixing methods mentioned above are still in effect, and also provide copies of all relevant legal instruments establishing minimum wage rates currently in force.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body on the continued relevance of the Convention based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). In fact, the Governing Body has decided that Convention No. 26 is among those instruments which may no longer be fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government should consider the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which marks certain advances compared to older instruments on minimum wage fixing, for instance, as regards its broader scope of application, the requirement for a comprehensive minimum wage system, and the enumeration of the criteria for the determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.