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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report in response to the Committee’s previous comments.

Article 1, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention. The Committee notes with regret that the Government has secured no changes regarding the categories of workers excluded from the coverage of the provisions on minimum wages. The Committee recalls that one of the purposes of the Convention is to protect groups of wage earners whose terms of employment or vulnerability are such as to make the application of minimum wages necessary as a protection. The Committee points out that, in principle, any determination of categories of workers to be excluded from minimum wage coverage should occur after the representative organizations of workers and employers have been fully consulted, and that these organizations should also be consulted prior to periodic reviews to determine whether such exclusions should be maintained. The Committee requests the Government to report on any developments regarding the groups of workers excluded from the coverage of minimum wage provisions, and to provide additional information on the reasons for the exclusions and on the number of workers affected and their conditions of work.

Article 3. The Committee also notes with regret that the Government’s response to its previous comments concerning the manner in which workers’"basic subsistence needs" are assessed for the purpose of fixing minimum wage rates, is simply to say that the minimum a worker would need in order to live decently is 2,000 bolivianos per month, an amount five times the current minimum wage. The Committee recalls that the minimum wage becomes meaningless when it fails to provide workers with an income that affords them a decent standard of living and is sufficient to cover the vital necessities of food, clothing, housing, education and rest for both workers and their families. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the relation of the current minimum wage to workers’ purchasing power in terms of a basket of basic goods, and to provide information on the evolution of minimum wage rates in comparison with the evolution of inflation.

Article 4, paragraph 2. The Committee is bound to note with regret that, despite the Committee’s repeated requests, the Government has still not sent information on full consultations held with the social partners in order to fix and adjust minimum wages, as required by the provisions of the Convention. The Committee again recalls that one of the central requirements of the minimum wage instruments is that the minimum wage-fixing machinery must be set up and operated in consultation with organizations of employers and workers, whose participation should be effective and should take place on an equal footing, if possible on a regular basis and within an institutionalized framework. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps without delay to bring national law and practice into line with the requirements of the Convention, particularly as regards consultation of the social partners.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that Supreme Decree No. 26547 of 20 April 2000 establishes a national minimum wage of 430 bolivianos for the public sector and the private sector as from 1 January 2002. The Committee also notes the information supplied by the Government on the inspection system and the penalties established by law with a view to enforcing minimum wage provisions. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the practical effect given to the Convention, including statistical information on the results of inspections for minimum wage purposes (contraventions reported, penalties imposed, etc.) and the approximate number of workers covered by minimum wage rates together with any other relevant information on the application of the provisions of the Convention.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2004.]