Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

Further to its previous observation concerning the application of Article 12(1) of the Convention (regular payment of wages), the Committee notes the comments received from various workers' organizations since its last session. The Central Committee of the Trade Union of the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences indicates in the letter of January 1996 that in violation of both the national labour law and the Convention, the payment of wages of state employees of the National Academy institutions has been delayed for two to three months or more, because the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine constantly delays the financing of the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. The Kharkov Committee of the Trade Union of the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences also noted the deterioration of the situation since its previous comments and refers to non-payment amounting to five months' wages in July 1996. The World Federation of Trade Unions in the letter dated 15 October 1996 mentions the prolonged non-payment of wages of up to eight months. Comments were also received from the Ukrainian Health Care Union in October 1996 about the non-payment of wages to health-care workers. The Committee further received during its session a comment about non-payment of wages from the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Trade Union of Educational and Science Employees, and will examine its contents at the next session together with the observations that the Government may make on it.

The Government refers, in its reply received in May 1996, to various measures to ensure the timely payment of wages to workers: (i) the setting up of an inter-agency commission comprising the leading central economic and other officials and trade unions; (ii) the establishment of the State Labour Inspection Commission whose main tasks include the control over the application of legislative provisions on wage payment; (iii) a draft law "on amendments to the Ukrainian Code on Administrative Offences" to strengthen the sanctions against officials guilty of the delays; (iv) another act envisaged to provide for compensation to workers of partial loss of wages due to delays in payment; (v) adoption of timetables of liquidation of wage arrears both from the State and local budgets, in pursuance of the Order of the President of Ukraine of 23 March and 22 April 1996; (vi) Decree of the President of 5 April 1996 on certain measures to stabilize the financial situations of enterprises; and (vii) an instruction of the President published concerning the urgent measures to guarantee the timely payment of wages, under which a new regime should regulate the use of government financial resources in order to ensure the payment of wages without delays. The Government further indicates that measures have been taken to stabilize the financial situation of coal mines, and that the payment of unpaid wages of scientific staff of the institutions of the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Kharkov region for the months of June-September 1995 was executed in full in 1995.

As regards the Committee's earlier comment on Article 3 of the Convention concerning the prohibition of the payment of wages in the form of promissory notes, the Government has supplied the text of the Decree issued by the President of the Ukraine on 14 September 1994, No. 530/94, concerning the issuing and circulating of promissory notes to cover the mutual debts of entrepreneurs and enterprises, and states that it does not allow such payment in the case of payment of wages. It also indicates that section 23 of the Act on Payment of Wages of 24 March 1995 prohibits the payment of wages in the form of promissory notes as well as in other non-cash forms including bills of exchange.

The Committee takes due note of the information as well as the text of the Act on Payment of Wages of 24 March 1995. It however notes that some of the workers' organizations mentioned above submitted their comments several months after the Government's reply. This appears to signify that the situation has not improved in spite of the measures indicated by the Government.

The Committee recalls that the present problem concerns the implementation in practice of the national labour legislation which gives effect to the Convention. It again emphasizes that the effective application of the Convention, through the national provisions giving effect to it, should comprise three principal aspects: supervision, appropriate penalties to prevent and punish infringements and steps to make good the prejudice suffered. The Committee urges the Government to take all possible measures to ensure the regular payment of wages, and requests it to report on them and their effects, including for instance, extracts from official reports that show the details of investigations made, infringements observed and penalties imposed. It asks the Government to indicate in particular the manner in which section 34 of the 1995 Act on Payment of Wages (on the compensation of workers for losses of part of their wages resulting from delays in its payment) is applied in practice, and whether courts of law or other tribunals have given decisions concerning the regular payment of wages.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1997.]