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Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention, 1951 (No. 99) - Algeria (RATIFICATION: 1962)

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Article 3(2) and (3) of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery and consultation of the social partners. The Committee notes Presidential Decrees Nos 06-395 of 12 November 2006 and 09-416 of 16 December 2009, which successively increased the amount of the national guaranteed minimum wage (SNMG) to 12,000 dinars a month (around US$165) on 1 January 2007, then to 15,000 dinars a month (around US$207) on 1 January 2010. It understands that a tripartite committee met prior to each adjustment to discuss, among other matters, the increase in the rate of the SNMG. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the exact composition and role of this tripartite committee, including detailed information on the manner in which the Government ensures that the representative organizations of employers and workers participate in equal numbers and on an equal footing in the application of the minimum wage fixing machinery. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of any relevant legislative or other texts in this respect.

Article 4. System of supervision and sanctions. In its previous comments, the Committee observed that the penal provisions set out in section 149 of Act No. 90-11 of 21 April 1990 in cases of failure to comply with the legislation on minimum wages may not have the intended dissuasive effect in view of the low level of the pecuniary sanctions envisaged and the absence of proportionate adjustment to the rate of the SNMG. As the Government’s report does not contain any information on this point, the Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the need to set the amount of fines at a level that is such as to prevent abuses and encourage employers to apply the SNMG to their workers. It requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the minimum wage legislation is accompanied by appropriate financial sanctions and to keep the Office informed of any progress achieved in this respect.

Article 5. Methods of application of the minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes that, under the terms of section 87 of Act No. 90-11 of 21 April 1990 concerning labour relations, account is taken in the determination of the rate of the SNMG of fluctuations in the following economic indicators: average national productivity, the consumer price index and the general economic situation. The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the need to maintain a close correlation between fluctuations in the cost of living and the rate of the SNMG with a view to maintaining the purchasing power of agricultural workers and ensuring them and their families a suitable standard of living. In this respect, it recalls that, in accordance with Paragraph 2 of the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1951 (No. 89), the factors which should be taken into consideration in the fixing of minimum wage rates are the following: the cost of living, fair and reasonable value of services rendered, wages paid for similar or comparable work under collective bargaining agreements in agriculture, and the general level of wages for work of a comparable skill in other industries in the area where the workers are sufficiently organized. It therefore requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that the level of the minimum wage takes duly into account the real needs of workers and their families, with reference for example to the household basket. The Committee also understands that the National Labour Institute (INT) has carried out a survey of the level of Algerian wages in relation to those of consumer prices. It would be particularly interested in receiving a copy of this survey, and of any other studies providing a basis for assessing the relevance of the SNMG in light of the living conditions of agricultural workers and their families.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the application of the Convention in practice, and particularly statistics on the number of workers employed in agriculture who are paid at the rate of the SNMG and extracts from the reports of the inspection services containing information on the number of violations reported and the measures taken to bring them to an end, as well as any official documents or studies addressing issues of wage policy which would provide a basis for assessing the manner in which the Convention is applied.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body in relation to the pertinence of the Convention, based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). The Governing Body considered that Convention No. 99 is among those instruments which may not be fully up to date, but which remain relevant in certain respects. For this reason, the Committee suggests that the Government might examine the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which marks certain progress in relation to the earlier instruments on minimum wage fixing, for example by being broader in scope, providing for the establishment of a generalized minimum wage system and, finally, adopting certain criteria for the determination of minimum wage rates. The ratification of Convention No. 131 would appear to be all the more desirable as the national legislation establishes a minimum wage applicable to all workers, and not only agricultural workers. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision adopted or envisaged in this regard.