Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1996, publiée 85ème session CIT (1997)

1. Non-payment of wages. The Committee notes the observation jointly made by the Union of the Technical Assistance and Rural Development Workers of the State of Minas Gerais (SINTER) and the Federation of Unions and Associations of Rural Development Workers of Brazil (FASER) concerning non-payment of wages by the Technical Assistance and Rural Development Enterprise (EMATER) of the State of Minas Gerais.

The Committee notes the Government's statement in reply that, out of 3,483 employees and ex-employees making claims, 3,427 have already received the sums due by the time of response and that the payment of amounts due to the remaining 56 ex-employees will be shortly done following the final decisions of labour judiciary. Recalling that the Convention applies to all persons to whom wages are paid or payable (Article 2(1)), the Committee notes that the requirement to ensure the wage payment in accordance with the Convention is not affected by the status of EMATER whether it is a state enterprise or a private one. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on any further progress made towards the settlement of the amounts due to the above ex-employees of EMATER in accordance with Article 12(2), and also on measures taken or envisaged, if there are any, to ensure the application of the Convention in equivalent bodies in other states than Minas Gerais.

2. As to the points raised in the Committee's earlier observation concerning Articles 6, 8, 9 and 10, it notes that the Governing Body at its 264th Session (November 1995) had adopted the report of the tripartite committee, which was entrusted to examine the representation made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) under article 24 of the Constitution, alleging non-observance by Brazil of Conventions Nos. 29 and 105. It notes that the allegations made, which were considered to be well-founded by the above committee, include several aspects of situations that also fall within the scope of this Convention on the protection of wages. The Committee refers to the provisions, for instance, of Article 4 (limitation and conditions of wage payment in kind), Article 6 (prohibiting employers from limiting the freedom of the workers to dispose of their wages), Article 7 (conditions on the operation of works stores, including the prohibition of coercion to use them), Article 8 (conditions and limits of deductions from wages to be decided by legislation or collective agreement), Article 9 (prohibition of deductions from wages with a view to obtaining or retaining employment), Article 10 (procedures and limits of attachment or assignment of wages) and Article 14 (measures to ensure that workers are informed of the conditions and particulars of wages).

With reference to its comments on Conventions Nos. 29 and 105, the Committee requests the Government to examine the situations also in the light of this Convention, in particular under the Articles cited above, to take all the necessary measures accordingly, and to supply information on them. It also asks the Government to provide information on any infringements registered and the sanctions imposed in this regard.

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