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Benefits to improve the nutrition of workers and their families. The Committee earlier noted Decrees Nos. 1477/89 and 1478/89 respecting benefits to improve the nutrition of the worker and his family, as well as Decree No. 333/93 enumerating the benefits that do not have the character of remuneration. It pointed out that these "benefits", however they are termed (bonuses, supplementary benefits, etc.), constituted components of remuneration in the sense of Article 1 of the Convention, and requested the Government to ensure that these benefits should be subject to the measures set out in Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 of the Convention. In the previous observation, the Committee noted that Decree No. 1477/89 was repealed by virtue of Decree No. 773/96 of 15 July 1996, which refers in the preambular part to the comments by the ILO supervisory bodies.

The Committee notes from the information supplied by the Government, that by virtue of section 6 of Act No. 24,700 of 25 September 1996, the above-mentioned Decree No. 773/96 was repealed and that section 103bis of the Act on Labour Contract, as amended by the same Act, establishes a concept of "social benefits" of "non-remunerative" character with a view to improving the quality of life of the employee and the family, which includes the food coupons and food baskets up to the value of 20 per cent of the gross remuneration for workers covered by collective agreements and 10 per cent for others.

The Committee notes with regret that this new legislation brings the situation back to that of discrepancy with the requirements of the Convention mentioned at the beginning. It notes the Government's explanation that the repealed Decree No. 773/96 was causing disadvantages to workers because employers stopped to grant such benefits as soon as they were considered part of wages, as this resulted in the increase of employer's contributions and thus the labour cost. The Committee draws the Government's attention to the distinction between the protection that the Convention affords as regards wages and the question of calculating social security or other contributions. As regards the latter, the Committee points out that the definition or scope of wage as the basis for calculation of social contributions is outside the scope of this Convention. It requests the Government to re-examine the matter and to take all necessary measures to protect the payment of all components of remuneration as defined by Article 1, including benefits in the form of food or related coupons, as set out in Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 of the Convention.

Settlement of the debts of the State. The Committee also noted in the earlier observation, Decree No. 1639/93 of 4 August 1993, which was intended to speed up the procedures for the settlement of debts of the State, including wage arrears owed to workers in the public service, up to 1 April 1991 which were consolidated under the terms of Act No. 23982 and recognized by the courts. It notes the indication in the Government's report that the application of this Decree has been accelerated and that the market value of the coupon (BOCON), which is used also for settling wage arrears, is higher than the nominal value. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the progress made in this matter as regards the settlement of the wage arrears owed to workers in the public service.

Deferred payment of wages. In its earlier observations, the Committee noted the comments made by the Confederation of Educational Workers (CTERA) and the Union of Educational Workers of Rio Negro, concerning the deferred payment of wages which are due. The Committee notes the Government's statement that in a large part of the provinces, the situation of wage payment in the public sector is slowly normalizing, as a consequence of measures taken by local administration to improve its financial situation, that in general the situations of deferred payment have been decreasing and that no new complaints in this regard have been registered.

The Committee notes that a further comment concerning several Conventions including this one was received in March 1997 from the Union of Educational Workers of Rio Negro. The said organization refers to the reduction of wages, which the Committee considers outside the scope of the Convention. A point is also raised about sums lacking the character of remuneration, paid monthly to compensate for the insufficiency of wages. The organization calls for their inclusion in the basis for calculations as regards social security. As mentioned above, the Committee considers that the question does not fall within the scope of the Convention.

Although noting that the Union of Educational Workers of Rio Negro does not mention the deferred payment of wages in the latter comment, the Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the situation of wage payment in the provinces, and any measures taken to ensure the regular payment of wages in accordance with Article 12(1) of the Convention.

Payment in local government bonds. The Committee also noted earlier the observations from the World Federation of Trade Unions, regarding state employees in Cordoba, on the non-payment of wages and the decision of the provincial government of Cordoba to pay their wages in local government bonds.

The Committee notes the Government's indication that, from January 1997, the threshold for payment of wages in CECOR (Certificates of Cancelation of Obligations of the Province of Cordoba) is raised from $400 to $2,000, which corresponds to the wage level of extremely high-level officials, and therefore teachers in the public sector no longer receive their wages in the form of these bonds.

Maritime sector. In reply to the earlier comments made by the Union of United Maritime Workers (SOMU), the Government states that it asked the SOMU to submit separate complaints so that relevant procedures could be followed, and a copy of the complaint made by SOMU to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is attached to the Government's report. The Committee notes that the points raised in this document by the SOMU concerning a fishing and deep-freezing company, include one on the payment of wages, which is made only after finishing each catch (marea), therefore at the interval of 45 to 60 days. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on measures taken to ensure the practical application of the Convention in the maritime sector (in particular Article 12(1) in the fishing sector) and on any difficulties encountered, including, for instance, extracts from official inspection reports and information on any infringements observed and sanctions applied with regard to the payment of wages.

Application in practice. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice and measures taken to ensure it, in accordance with Article 16 of the Convention, including information on any difficulties encountered.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1998.]