Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2002, publiée 91ème session CIT (2003)

The Committee notes the information sent by the Government in its report. It notes with regret that the national legislation has been amended to take account of the comments it has been making for many years. It must therefore request the Government to provide fuller information on the points below, and hopes that specific measures will be taken as swiftly as possible to bring the legislation into conformity with the requirements set by the Convention.

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it noted that section 3(f), (g), (i) and (j) of the 1997 Labour Code excluded the following categories of workers from the scope of the Code: domestic servants; agricultural workers other than those employed in the operation, repair and maintenance of machinery, or in enterprises which process or market agricultural products such as cotton, or in dairy product factories, or in jobs related to the administration of agricultural projects including office work, accountancy, storage, gardening and livestock husbandry; casual workers; any categories of persons excluded totally or partially from the provisions of the Code by order of the Council of Ministers. Recalling that the Convention applies to all persons to whom wages are paid or payable, the Committee again requests the Government to indicate, in accordance with paragraph 4 of this provision, the measures taken or envisaged to extend the protection of the new Labour Code to the abovementioned workers or to apply in some other manner the protection afforded to these workers by this Article of the Convention.

The Government indicates in its report that a tripartite committee has been established to study the possibility of bringing certain agricultural workers within the scope of the labour law. The Committee observes that the Government already envisaged such a possibility for these workers in 1994. It hopes that the tripartite committee will soon be in a position to obtain results and afford these workers the protection they are entitled to under the Convention. The Committee also recalls that certain agricultural workers, casual workers and any other categories of workers to whom the Labour Code does not apply, either in part or in full, have for many years been excluded from the national laws and regulations governing wage protection, although the Government has stated time and again its intention to extend such protection to them. The Committee stresses once again that the Convention applies to all persons to whom wages are paid or payable and requests the Government to take all necessary steps to extend to all workers the wage protection afforded by the Convention.

Article 3. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the absence of provisions in the Labour Code does not mean that wages can be paid by means other than cash. The Committee would point out, however, that under this provision of the Convention the payment of wages in the form of promissory notes, vouchers, coupons or in any other form alleged to represent legal tender, must be prohibited. Accordingly, to be consistent with the Convention the national legislation must expressly establish such a prohibition. The Committee requests the Government to take all necessary steps to ensure that effect is given to the Convention in this regard.

Article 4. Recalling that section 35(1) of the Labour Code authorizes payments in cash without prescribing any conditions for such payments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that payments in kind under section 35(1) apply only in establishments that provide housing, food, fuel and uniforms to workers. The Government further indicates that this type of payment is not automatic in all such establishments, and gives assurances that the partial payment of wages in kind in the forms mentioned above is better for workers than cash payments. The Committee notes, however, that the Government’s report makes no mention of the draft new regulations on the payment of wages in kind referred to in its previous report. It wishes to point out that, under the Convention, where part payment of wages in kind is allowed in certain industries or occupations, measures must be taken to ensure that such allowances are appropriate for the personal use and benefit of the worker and his/her family and that their value is fair and reasonable (paragraph 2). The Committee accordingly asks the Government to take the necessary measures in the very near future to bring the national legislation into line with this provision of the Convention.

Article 6. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it intends to take the Committee’s previous observations on this provision of the Convention into consideration in amendments to the Labour Code or regulations issued thereunder. It hopes that the Government will be in a position in the very near future to take the necessary measures to prohibit employers from limiting in any manner the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages as they see fit.

Article 7. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, works stores are regulated by initiatives of the trade unions within the framework of the legislation on cooperatives. It asks the Government to provide copies of the relevant texts so that it may ascertain whether they comply with the provisions of this Article of the Convention.

Article 8. The Government indicates in its report that the provision of loans is governed by special contracts which establish ways of reimbursement in accordance with the law. The Committee states, however, that the Government’s report does not specify, as the Committee requested, the types and extent of deductions from wages prescribed by national legislation, or the manner in which workers are to be informed of the conditions and limits within which deductions may ordinarily be made. The Committee consequently urges the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that full effect is given to the provisions of this Article.

Article 10. The Committee notes that the Government again refers to section 67 of the Labour Code which offers limited protection from arbitrary or unfair attachment in providing that any contract of employment under which a worker undertakes to assign to his/her employer all or part of his/her remuneration shall be deemed null and void. The Committee must therefore stress that this provision of the Labour Code does not specify the manner and limits within which wages may be attached or assigned, and contains no provision protecting wages from attachment or assignment to the extent necessary for the maintenance of the worker and his/her family. It accordingly asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to give effect to this provision of the Convention.

Article 13, paragraph 2. The Government indicates in its report that retail stores and places of amusement are very limited and are to be found only in big cities. The Committee recalls, however, that under this provision of the Convention payment of wages in shops or stores for the retail sale of merchandise and in places of amusement must be prohibited by national laws or regulations, and that there appear to be no provisions prohibiting wage payment in such places except in the cases of persons employed there. The Committee trusts that in its next report the Government will indicate the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to give effect to this Article of the Convention.

Article 14. In its report the Government indicates that under section 28(1) of the Labour Code any contract that exceeds three months in duration shall be made in writing by the employer and shall be written in three copies and signed by the two parties. The Committee recalls that in its last report the Government stated its intention of adopting regulations to ensure that workers engaged under oral employment contracts were informed before entering employment of the wage conditions applying to them and that all workers were informed at the time of each payment of the particulars of their wages. The Committee notes, however, that the Government provides no new information as to the promulgation of this text. Consequently, it points out once again that under this provision of the Convention workers must be informed in an appropriate and easily understandable manner of the conditions in respect of wages under which they are employed, whether by oral or written contract and regardless of the length of the contract. It trusts that the Government will take measures in the very near future enabling the national laws and regulations to be brought into line with this provision of the Convention, and asks the Government to provide copies of any new regulations adopted to this end.

Article 15(d). The Committee notes that the regulation referred to in section 65 of the Labour Code concerning the wage data of which employers must keep a record has not yet been adopted. It hopes that the Government will be in a position to take the necessary steps to secure its adoption as soon as possible and asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2004.]