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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in response to its previous comment.

Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Minimum Remuneration Determination Committee is set up every two years and that two such committees are currently in operation to fix minimum wages for organized and tea plantation sectors. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the results of the deliberations of these committees and also to forward a copy of the statutory instruments prescribing the new minimum wage rates once they are issued.

Article 2, paragraph 1. The Committee notes that the notices of 15 March and 25 April 2000 fixing minimum monthly remuneration for workers employed in tea estates and those employed in all establishments other than tea estates prescribe lower wage rates for minors who are defined as workers and employees between 14 and 16 years of age. In this connection, the Committee recalls that, in the absence of any provision in the Convention providing for the fixing of different minimum wage rates on the basis of criteria such as the workers’ age, the general principles laid down in other instruments have to be observed, and particularly those contained in the Preamble of the ILO Constitution which specifically refers to the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee further recalls paragraph 176 of its General Survey of 1992 on minimum wages in which it stated that the reasons that prompted the adoption of lower minimum wage rates for groups of workers on account of their age should be regularly re-examined in the light of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee requests therefore the Government to keep it informed of any developments in respect of minimum wage differentials based on the workers’ age.

Article 4, paragraphs 2 and 3. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it raised the question of compatibility between the requirements of the Convention for full consultation and direct participation of employers’ and workers’ representatives in the operation of the minimum wage-fixing machinery and section 21(5) of the Labour Act, 1992, as amended, that empowers the Government to prescribe minimum wage rates applicable to workers and employees of establishments when it is not possible to form the Minimum Remuneration Determination Committee. In its reply, the Government states that this provision is only a saving clause and a safeguard for unforeseeable situations. In this connection, the Committee considers it essential to reaffirm the fundamental importance it attaches to the principle of consultation and participation of the social partners in all procedures concerning minimum wage fixing. According to the letter and the spirit of the Convention, the consultation must take place before decisions are taken and must be effective, that is to say it must enable employers’ and workers’ organizations to have a useful say in matters that are the subject of consultation, while the participation of employers and workers must be direct, including the possibility that the parties concerned form part of the relevant bodies. It must also be effective - that is to say that the opinions reached by the parties concerned should be duly taken into consideration - and it should take place on an equal footing. The Committee is of the view that the Government is under the obligation to create and maintain conditions permitting the full consultation and direct participation of the social partners in all circumstances, and therefore invites the Government to consider amending its legislation to give full effect to the provisions of the Convention in this respect.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, with reference to the enforcement of minimum wage legislation, there have been hundreds of complaints lodged with different labour offices and that penalties have been imposed within the jurisdiction of the competent authorities. The Committee also notes the figures concerning the number of workers employed in agricultural and non-agricultural occupations and covered by the general labour legislation. The Committee hopes that the Government will take all necessary steps and will soon be in a position to communicate detailed information on the effect given in practice to the Convention, including extracts from reports of inspection services showing the results of inspections carried out (e.g. the number of infringements recorded, the sanctions imposed, etc.), statistical data on the number of workers to whom minimum wages apply, copies of any recent studies and surveys referring to minimum wage questions as well as any other particulars bearing on the functioning of the minimum wage fixing machinery.