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The Committee notes the Government's report on the application of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide further information on the following points:

Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government's statement that legal provisions and regulations on minimum wages are published in the official compilation of laws and come into force on the day after the date of publication. The Government adds that the public is generally well-informed about important legal texts and regulations, such as those relating to minimum wages. However, the Committee refers to paragraph 359 of its 1992 General Survey on Minimum Wages, according to which the publication of minimum wage rates in the Official Gazette is not by itself sufficient to ensure that the employers and workers concerned are made aware of the rates in force. It requests the Government to indicate the additional measures which have been taken or are envisaged to ensure that publicity is given to minimum wage rates, for example, through the publication of minimum wage rates in publications other than the official compilation of laws, the posting of notices in places where wages are paid or at the workplace, or by other means.

The Committee also notes that the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family is responsible for the material and legislative aspects of the governmental decree on minimum wages. It requests the Government to provide information on the system of supervision and the sanctions envisaged in order to ensure that the wages actually paid are not lower than the applicable minimum rates.

Article 4, paragraph 2. The Committee notes the Government's statement that a worker to whom a governmental decree on minimum wages applies and who receives a lower wage can, under section 263 of the Labour Code, bring an action within three years with a view to recovering the difference. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether judicial or other decisions have been issued in this respect. Please supply copies of them, where appropriate.

Article 5. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the available statistics on the number of workers covered by the minimum wage decree does not take into account their distribution by sex and age. It requests the Government to provide such statistics.

Furthermore, the Committee also notes, according to the wage data for the second quarter of 1994, that 0.2 per cent of the workers out of a sample of 188,386 receive average hourly remuneration that is lower than the rate fixed by governmental decree. It requests the Government to indicate the sectors and categories of workers that receive wages that are lower than the minimum rates fixed by the Government and any measures that have been taken or are envisaged by the Government to ensure that the wages actually paid in industry, including home work, are not lower than the minimum applicable rates.

Point IV of the report form. Please indicate, in accordance with these provisions of the Convention, whether decisions have been taken by judicial or other bodies involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention and, if so, provide copies of them.