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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. It also notes the discussion in the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 90th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2002). It notes with satisfaction the adoption of the Wages Act of 14 February 2002, repealing the Act of 25 February 1993 on the same subject. The Committee also notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 140-XV of 10 May 2001 establishing the labour inspectorate. Furthermore, it notes the adoption of Act No. 1071-XV of 23 May 2002 amending and supplementing the Penal Code and the Code of Administrative Offences.

I.  Payment of wages in kind

1. Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report and the discussion in the Committee on the Application of Standards. During this discussion, the Government stated that the payment of wages in kind in the form of alcoholic drinks, tobacco or narcotic substances was no longer the practice in the country. Certain members of the Conference Committee considered that such a practice, which was common in the country, was contrary to the Convention and that it needed to be combated on an urgent basis through the imposition of appropriate penalties. The Conference Committee requested the Government to implement efficiently the recommendations of the committee set up by the Governing Body under article 24 of the ILO Constitution, adopted by the Governing Body in June 2000, and invited the Government to supply the Committee of Experts with relevant and detailed information on the number and nature of the establishments reported to practice the partial payment of wages in kind in the form of alcoholic drinks, tobacco or any other allowances in kind in violation of the Convention.

2. The Committee notes with satisfaction that, under the terms of section 29(3) of the new Wages Act of 14 February 2002, any payment in kind, whether total or partial, is prohibited and that the payment of a part or whole of the wages in the form of spirits, tobacco or narcotic substances is henceforth explicitly prohibited. It also notes that, according to the Government’s report, during the year 2001 and the current year, the inspections carried out have not reported any cases of the replacement of wages by alcoholic drinks or narcotics and that such cases have not been reported by trade union organizations or the workers themselves. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, including statistics, in future reports on the compliance in practice with the new legislation respecting the payment of wages in kind by providing, for example, extracts from official reports, statistics on the number and type of contraventions reported and any other information relating to the application of the Convention in practice.

II.  Wage arrears

3. Articles 12, paragraph 1, and 15(c). The Committee notes the Government’s report and the discussion in the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 90th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2002). The Government described the measures that it had taken to resolve the problem of wage arrears which has been chronically affecting the country for several years. It indicated that the total amount of wage arrears had decreased by 26.3 per cent at that time, with a decrease in the average length of the delay in their payment from four months to one month. The Government undertook to use all the means within its power to find a satisfactory solution to this problem. Certain members of the Conference Committee recalled that the problem of wage arrears had come before the Committee repeatedly for several years. They stated that, while the figures provided by the Government representative showed progress, the question remained as to whether any reliable signs of a positive development existed. They called upon the Committee of Experts to compare the figures provided by the Government with the actual situation and indicated that, in certain sectors such as agriculture and food processing, the situation of wage arrears was deteriorating, particularly because of the absence of effective labour inspection services. The Committee on the Application of Standards therefore requested the Government to provide the Committee of Experts with detailed, up-to-date and relevant information on the concrete measures taken to ensure the application of the Convention in practice.

4. In its report, the Government states that, due to the deep-rooted crisis and the situation of insolvency affecting most of the country’s enterprises, the phenomenon of the non-payment of wages still persists. It refers to the various legislative measures adopted with a view to organizing and supervising the action taken to reduce the accumulated arrears of wages. The Government also refers to the new provisions contained in the Wages Act, which include giving priority to the payment of wages in relation to other debts (section 28 of the Wages Act), the determination of specific intervals for the payment of wages (section 30), the responsibility of banks and persons in positions of responsibility in the event of the non-payment of wages within the time limits that have been set (section 34) and compensation in the event of the non-payment of wages in due time by means of their compulsory indexation to the consumer price index (section 35). The Government also refers to the establishment, by Act No. 140-XV, of the labour inspectorate with the mission of supervising compliance with labour legislation in publicly or privately owned enterprises, institutions and organizations, irrespective of their legal nature, and in public authorities at the central and local levels (section 1(2)). Finally, it refers to the adoption of Act No. 1071-XV amending and supplementing the Penal Code and the Code of Administrative Offences, which sets out penalties for cases of wilful non-observance of the regular intervals determined for the payment of wages and other payments of a permanent nature.

5. The Government considers that, following the adoption of this series of measures, wage arrears have diminished since October 2000 by 22 per cent and, as of 1 June 2002, amounted to around 370 million lei, of which 126.5 million are in the public budget sector. Of the 370 million lei, some 44.6 per cent represented wage arrears from the month of May, with the average delay in the payment of wages also having been reduced from 2.1 months in October 2000 to 1.1 months in June 2002. The limit of three months is exceeded only in the agricultural sector.

6. The Committee notes with interest the measures taken by the Government to combat the phenomenon of the non-payment of wages and notes the progress that has been achieved in resolving the problems raised by wage arrears. However, it recalls the concerns expressed by the members of the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference and considers that further efforts should be made to fully resolve the problem of wage arrears. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the three-month limit for the payment of wages referred to in its report. The Committee notes that such a limit is not in accordance with the Wages Act, which provides for the periodical payment of wages not less than twice or once a month depending on the type of payment, namely for piece-work or on a monthly basis, respectively (section 30).

7. Furthermore, the Committee notes that section 138(1) of the Penal Code and section 41(2) of the Code of Administrative Offences provide for penalties solely in the event of wilful non-compliance with the regular intervals set out in the law for the payment of wages. The Committee wishes to recall that, under the terms of Article 15(c) of the Convention, national laws or regulations have to prescribe adequate penalties for any violation thereof, without any distinction between the wilful or unintentional nature of such violations. By prescribing penalties only in cases of wilful non-compliance with the prescribed intervals for the payment of wages, the provision of the above Codes are not therefore in conformity with this provision of the Convention. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate the measures which are envisaged to ensure that all violations of the legislation giving effect to the Convention are penalized in accordance with the Convention.

8. The Committee hopes that the Government will take all the necessary measures to achieve the full and entire application of the Convention in both national law and practice, and it requests the Government to continue to provide in future reports up-to-date information on the number of workers affected and the number and nature of enterprises in which the payment of wages has been subject to delays since the entry into force of the new legislation on wages and the establishment of the labour inspectorate. The Government is also requested to provide information on the number of violations reported in relation to the payment of wages at the intervals required since the adoption of the above national legislation, the number of complaints investigated and the nature of the penalties imposed under the new regulations in force, including any rulings handed down by the competent courts.

A request on other points is also being addressed directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2003.]