Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention and wishes to draw attention to the following points.

Articles 1(1) and 4(2), (3), of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes with interest the establishment of the Wages Commission by Law No. 1416 of 10 May 2004 as one of the permanent tripartite consultative bodies under the National Labour Council. It also notes the Government’s indication that the composition of the Wages Commission was changed recently by increasing the number of employers’ and workers’ representatives and decreasing that of the government representatives with a view to ensuring a broader representation of the social partners. As a result, the Wages Commission is headed by the Director of the Wages and Pension Directorate of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, and it now consists of eight members including one additional government representative (from the Ministry of Finance), three representatives of employers’ organizations (the Council of Albanian Employers’ Organizations, Confederation of the Council of Albanian Employers, Albanian Industrial Confederation), and three representatives of workers’ organizations (the Albanian Confederation of Trade Unions, the Albanian Union of Independent Trade Unions and the Federation of Albanian Independent Trade Unions of Private Commerce, Banks and Services). According to the Government’s report, the draft decision of the Council of Ministers on the determination of the national minimum wage is drawn up by experts of the Wages and Pensions Directorate of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities before being thoroughly discussed in the Wages Commission and finally transmitted to the Council of Ministers. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the legal text setting up the Wages Commission and to provide more detailed information on the mandate and functioning of the Wages Commission including, for instance, any recent activity report, survey of national economic conditions or other initiatives undertaken by the Commission with a view to assisting in the determination of the national minimum wage.

Article 2(1). Subminimum wage based on age. Further to its previous comment under Convention No. 26 on the need to carefully accommodate the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in any scheme providing for differentiated minimum pay rates on the basis of workers’ age, the Committee requests the Government to supply additional information on the possible establishment of lower minimum wage rates for young workers, as provided for in section 111(3) of the Labour Code.

Article 5. System of supervision and sanctions. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the application of the Convention is ensured by the State Labour Inspectorate authorized under section 202 of the Labour Code (Act No. 7961 of 12 July 1995, as amended) to apply a penalty which amounts to 30 times more than the monthly minimum wage. It requests the Government to provide up to date relevant information on, for instance, the preparation of new draft legislation on the State Labour Inspectorate and the strengthening of the labour inspection services, as previously reported by the Government under Convention No. 26. It would also be grateful if the Government would supply statistical information on labour inspection activities related to the enforcement of the minimum wage legislation showing the number of visits carried out, the violations reported and the penalties imposed.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that, by Decision No. 245 of the Council of Ministers dated 27 April 2006, the national monthly minimum wage was increased by 18.6 per cent from 11,800 leks (approximately US$122) to 14,000 leks (approximately US$145), while the national hourly minimum wage was fixed at 80 leks (approximately US$0.80). While noting the Government’s indication that the national minimum wage, combined with other statutory benefits, provides unskilled workers with a remuneration exceeding the minimum living costs, the Committee would appreciate if the Government would provide concrete information on the evolution of the national minimum wage in recent years as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the inflation rate. It would also be grateful if the Government would provide some indications as to the correlation of the minimum wage with the official poverty line and the approximate number of workers estimated to live under that line. Finally, the Committee would appreciate receiving copies of the “Assessment of the official minimum living costs in Albania”, carried out in December 2001, and another study on minimum wage by economic sector, carried out in October 2004, to which reference was made in the Government’s report.