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The Committee notes the information in the Government’s detailed report. It would nonetheless be grateful if the Government would elaborate on the following matters.

Article 3 of the Convention. Payment of wages in the form of locally issued vouchers. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, payment of wages in the form of vouchers issued in certain provinces has been stopped and a “monetary unification” programme has been set up by Decrees Nos. 743/2003 of 28 March 2003 and 266/2003 of 9 April 2003, to put into circulation a single national currency with legal tender and to take the vouchers issued in the provinces between 2001 and 2002 out of circulation. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this matter and to indicate what proportion of the vouchers are still in circulation and the deadline for their collection. The Committee also notes the information supplied by the Government on the social benefits paid to improve the diets of workers and their families.

Article 12, paragraph 1. Deferred payment of wages. While noting the information on the minimum wage adjustment and trends in the average wage in the past three years, which hint at a gradual return to normal in the payment of wages, the Committee requests the Government to state whether wage arrears have now all been settled or whether certain sectors, branches or provinces continue to have difficulties in paying wages regularly and, if applicable, to provide specific information on the number of workers concerned and the average delay in the payment of wage arrears.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government on the organization of the labour inspection services and the number of inspections carried out in 2005. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide general information on the application of the Convention including, for instance, extracts of official reports by the labour inspection services showing the number and nature of the infringements reported, copies of official studies relating to wage protection, information on the difficulties encountered in implementing the Convention, or any other information enabling the Committee to assess how the Convention is applied in practice.