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

The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been drawing the Government’s attention to section 4 of the Wages and Conditions of Employment Committees Act of 1976, which should be amended to ensure the participation, in equal numbers and on an equal footing, of the employers and workers concerned in the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery. In this respect, the Government’s reports have been announcing for over 20 years the establishment of a tripartite commission to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Committee notes with regret that, despite the commitments that it has made in this respect on many occasions, the Government has still not been able to make the amendments necessary to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention. Recalling both the spirit and the letter of the Convention and to paragraph 425 of its General Survey of 1992 on minimum wages, in which it strongly urges governments to take the necessary action to ensure that the participation of the social partners in the operation of minimum wage machinery is useful and effective and on an equal footing, the Committee requests the Government to take all the necessary measures without further ado to bring the national legislation fully into conformity with the Convention. It expresses the firm hope that the Government will be in a position to indicate in its next report the progress achieved with a view to ensuring the effective participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations, in equal numbers and on an equal footing, in the national minimum wage fixing machinery.

Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. While noting the information provided by the Government in its last reports, and particularly the decision of 2000 adjusting minimum wages on the basis on the Minimum Wage Act of 1974, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify in its next report all the minimum wage rates applicable both under the Minimum Wage Act and the Act on Wages and Conditions of Employment Committees of 1976. It would also be grateful to be provided with any other relevant information enabling it to assess the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including extracts from the reports of the inspection services concerning compliance with minimum wages and, where appropriate, the measures taken when violations have been found and the number of workers actually covered by the minimum wage regulations.