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The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read, in pertinent part, as follows:

1. Article 3 of the Convention. Since section 9 of Act No. 1178 establishes that the Personnel Administration System shall determine, inter alia, the requirements and procedures for filling vacancies and shall implement "the systems for evaluating and remunerating work", the Committee requests the Government to provide the regulations issued under this Act so that the Committee can appreciate how the objective appraisal of jobs in the public service is carried out.

2. The Committee notes Decree No. 22739 which by its own authority establishes wage increases in the public sector and allows the private sector, pursuant to section 25, to determine by consultation the wage increases for 1991, and provides that wage agreements must be registered within 45 days following the adoption of the Decree. So that the Committee can assess the methods and criteria used for fixing wages above the legal minimum, it asks the Government to provide copies of the wage agreements referred to in this section and section 19 of the Decree (the general provision on wage agreements), especially those applying to sectors which employ a large number of women.

3. Article 1. So that the Committee can ascertain whether the national legislation and practice are consistent with the Convention, it asks the Government to provide a copy of Presidential Decree No. 21137 defining the composition of wages, which include a "seniority bonus and a frontier subsidy", pursuant to section 1 of Decree No. 22739, or a copy of Decree No. 323474 of 20 April 1993 which, the report states, replaces Decree No. 22739 and which, according to the Government, was appended to the report, but has not been received by the Office.

4. Since 1990 the Government has been referring to a preliminary draft of a new General Labour Act which, it states, is being examined by the social partners. The Committee hopes that the draft will be adopted as soon as national circumstances allow and that, in accordance with the Government's assurances, it will fully incorporate the principle of equal pay for work of equal value into national positive law. It asks the Government to keep it informed of progress in this respect.

5. The Committee notes the recent agreement between the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development (MTDL) and the National Statistics Institute (INE), aimed at improving the national statistics department as regards both the collection and processing of data for the whole national territory. It hopes that detailed statistics will shortly be available, including on the activities of the labour inspectorate, and that the Government to provide a copy of them as soon as they are available.