Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 1995, publiée 82ème session CIT (1995)

1. The Committee notes the observations made by the United Trade Union Centre (UTUC) that in some cases the employers have taken cases relating to payment of minimum wages to the courts of law, with the result of withholding the benefit of the minimum wages to the concerned workers. It requests the Government to supply the texts of decisions of courts of law involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention in accordance with point VI of the report form.

2. The Committee notes that the All India Organization of Employers (AIOE) is of the opinion that minimum wage fixing in the small-scale or household sectors like cottage industries has been counterproductive to employment generation, and calls for more flexibility. It recalls that Article 3, paragraph 2(1), of the Convention requires the consultation with representatives of the employers and workers concerned before the minimum wage fixing machinery is applied in a trade or part of trade, and that its paragraph 2(3) prohibits abatement of the fixed minimum rates of wages by individual agreement. The Committee would be grateful to the Government for including in future reports information on the application of these provisions.

3. Regarding the contract workers employed by the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), the Committee notes the notification issued by the Government of West Bengal dated 15 July 1989 prohibiting employment of contract labour in all SAIL stockyards at Calcutta and the Government's indication that this notification has however been kept in abeyance due to the ad interim injunction issued by the Calcutta High Court. It asks the Government to supply information on the application in practice of the minimum wage rates to the concerned workers.

4. The Committee also notes with interest the information supplied by the Government on the current rates of wages of workers in the cinema industry in West Bengal, which are higher than the minimum rates fixed by the notification of 1970, concerning which the Committee has been commenting.

5. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the practical application of the Convention, for example, the results of inspection, the cases of violation observed and sanctions imposed in accordance with Article 4 and points III and V of the report form.