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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report in response to its previous comments.

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government's statement to the effect that the practice of full consultation between the social partners has not been established and wage negotiations between workers and employers have only been held following strikes or the threat thereof. The Government has fixed a minimum wage level equivalent to US$20 in readjusted Kwanzas and the Committee requests the Government to shortly take the appropriate measures to ensure the participation, in equal numbers and on equal terms, of employers' and workers' representatives in the system of fixing minimum wages.

The Government indicates, in its report, that there is no minimum wage fixed on the basis of consultations with social partners. It also states that wages are currently fixed administratively, but that negotiation is under way between the Government and social partners, employers and workers, with a view to fixing the minimum wage.

The Committee notes that since 1989, the national system of fixing minimum wages is inadequate, particularly in practice, which prevents the national system of fixing minimum wages from conforming with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee recalls that the provisions of the Convention require consultation with the organizations of the employers and the workers concerned prior to the fixing of the minimum wage rate. The Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to take the necessary measures in the near future to ensure the participation, in equal number and on equal terms, of employers' and workers' representatives in the system of fixing minimum wages.

Article 3, paragraph 2(3), and Article 4. The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly provide a copy of the most recent Decree fixing the minimum wage, and indicate the relevant legislative provisions or regulations which ensure the observance of the minimum wage, such as: the possibility of recovering, by judicial or legalized proceedings, the amount by which the workers have been underpaid in the event that the wage rate received is less than the minimum wage, as well as the sanctions envisaged in the event of infringement of the provisions concerning the minimum wage.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1999.]