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The Committee notes the last three reports sent by the Government and the documentation appended thereto.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes that in its last report the Government refers for the first time to a number of laws relating to the sector, including Decree No. 513/94 of 23 November 1994 determining the characteristics and obligations of establishments classified as "restaurants"; Decree No. 371/02 of 25 September 2002 regulating providers of rural touristic services; Decree No. 384/97 of 15 September 1997 and Decree No. 210/01 of 6 June 2001. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide copies of the above decrees and of any other standards applying to the areas covered by the Convention.

Article 3, paragraph 1. The Committee notes that according to the Government, the Ministry of Tourism has established a regulatory framework for tourist services, encouraging the establishment of human resource training centres in the relevant areas and in restaurants, and the National Employment Department has promoted vocational training in these two branches. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the formulation and adoption, in consultation with the social partners, of a policy designed to improve working conditions in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. The Committee would appreciate in particular up-to-date information on national training programmes for hotel and restaurant workers, together with recent official studies on working conditions in the tourist industry in general, and hotels and restaurants in particular.

Article 8. The Committee notes the collective agreement concluded between the Chamber of the Uruguayan Hotel and Tourist Industry (CIHTU) and the Single Union of Catering Workers of Uruguay (SUGU) of 10 September 1998 establishing minimum wages for the various categories of hotel and restaurant workers. Noting that the above agreement establishes that it is valid until 31 August 2000, the Committee requests the Government to report on the current status of the wages of the abovementioned workers. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the exact number and the percentage of workers in the sector who are covered by collective agreements.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the general statistical information supplied by the Government on inspections carried out by the supervisory body responsible for enforcement of labour standards. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information on the application of the Convention in practice, indicating, for example, the number of establishments and workers covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the evolution of the minimum wage in the sector broken down by category of worker and compared to the national average wage, reports of the inspection services showing any difficulties encountered in the sectors covered by the Convention, etc.