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

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in reply to its previous comments.

Articles 1 and 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations concerning the policy shift towards deregulation of the minimum wage, which was decided by the Minimum Wages Board in 1992, and subsequent developments. It also notes that the situation is currently at an impasse, because the National Tripartite Consultative Council (NTCC), which took over the question of the variation of the national minimum wage after the disallowance of the 2000 Minimum Wages Board Determination, is not able to agree on an interim minimum wage quantum. Under the circumstances, the Committee considers it appropriate to recall that the Convention is not an instrument of wage policy but rather an affirmation of the basic principles to be followed irrespective of the form or type of the minimum wage fixing machinery, which means that: (i) minimum wages must have force of law; (ii) they may not be subject to abatement; (iii) failure to apply them must be appropriately penalized; and (iv) the social partners must be fully consulted at all stages of the minimum wage-fixing process. Also recalling that minimum wage protection is relevant as a tool of social policy only if minimum wage rates are regularly adjusted in the light of the social and economic realities of the country, in order to ensure a decent standard of living to low-paid workers and their families, the Committee hopes that the Government will take all necessary steps to review existing minimum wage rates and reactivate tripartite consultations in accordance with the principles set out in the Convention.

Article 3, paragraph 2(3). The Committee notes that the national youth wage rate is 75 per cent of the national minimum wage and that this rate applies to young workers between 16 and 24 years of age. The Committee recalls in this respect that, although the Convention does not prohibit the fixing of different minimum wage rates on the basis of criteria such as age, wage levels should be determined primarily by reference to objective factors such as the quality and quantity of work in accordance with the principle of "equal remuneration for work of equal value". Noting the Government’s statement that in practice youths are paid at almost the same wage rate as those workers on the national minimum wage rates, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the national legislation is brought into line with national practice in this regard.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the national minimum wage rate remains unchanged, as fixed by the 1992 Minimum Wages Board Determination and increased by the Common Rule of 1999, or PGK24.68 per week (approximately US$7.5). The Committee also notes that according to inspection reports no worker is paid at the minimum wage rate and that even workers in the informal sector receive wages that are far higher than the minimum wage. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide all available information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical data on the number and categories of workers covered by relevant legislation, the evolution of minimum wage rates in relation to the evolution of economic indicators, the application of enforcement measures and the results obtained and any other particulars bearing on the method of determining and revising minimum wage rates.