Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2003, publiée 92ème session CIT (2004)

The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in its report and the attached documentation.

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. Further to its previous comments referring to the absence of an institutionalized framework to ensure effective consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations in determining the national minimum wage, the Committee notes with interest the information concerning the National Council of Social Dialogue and the proposals of its Working Party on the adjustment of the national minimum wage. According to the Government’s report, in November 2002, the Working Party concluded its study regarding the determination of a national minimum wage and suggested that a single national guaranteed minimum wage of an amount equivalent to US$50 per month should be fixed and that this amount should be regularly readjusted to reflect the evolution of the inflation rate in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report additional information concerning the composition and terms of reference of the National Council of Social Dialogue and to specify the legal text by which this advisory body was established. It also asks the Government to keep it informed of any future developments in this regard, particularly as regards the equal representation of the employers and workers concerned in the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery.

Article 3, paragraph 2(3). The Committee notes with interest the Government’s statement that the national minimum wage has been fixed at an amount in Angolan kwanzas equivalent to US$50 following the recommendation of the National Council of Social Dialogue. The Committee requests the Government to specify the statutory instrument establishing the minimum wage at its current level and to transmit a copy of that instrument.

Article 4. Further to its previous requests for detailed information on the system of supervision and sanctions ensuring the observance of the national legislation in respect of minimum wages, the Committee notes with interest the adoption by the Council of Ministers of Decree No. 11/03 of 11 March 2003 which prescribes the penalties for infringements of the provisions of the General Labour Law. The Committee notes, however, that this Decree does not provide for any specific sanctions in the case of offences relating to the binding force of the minimum wage. The Government is therefore requested to indicate whether according to the general labour legislation paying wages at less than the national minimum wage rate is a punishable offence, and if so, to specify the relevant provision(s) and forward copies of any text(s) which may not have been previously communicated. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that the Convention not only spells out the principle that minimum wages, once fixed, have the force of law and may not be subject to abatement, but requires also measures to ensure the recovery by judicial means of any amount by which workers may have been underpaid. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.

Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided in recent years any information on the practical application of the Convention. The Committee trusts that the Government will make an effort to collect and communicate in its next report concrete information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, including for instance extracts from official reports or studies related to minimum wage fixing, statistics on the number of workers covered by relevant legislation, data on inspection visits and the results obtained in matters covered by the Convention, as well as any other particulars which would enable the Committee to better appreciate the progress achieved or the difficulties encountered in fulfilling the commitments made by ratifying the Convention.