CMNT_TITLE

The Committee has been commenting for a number of years on the Government’s failure to amend section 6(3) of the Labour Standards Act No. 2 of 1977 in order to give full effect to the requirements of the Convention with regard to the equal representation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee has also been raising the question of the possible increase of the minimum wage which has not been revised since 1989.

In its last report, the Government merely indicates that, as regards the proposed legislative amendment, the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) will discuss this long outstanding issue and bring it to the attention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Labour. With regard to the readjustment of minimum wage levels, the Government contents itself to referring to the IRAC meeting of 9 March 2006 in which it was decided that a letter be written to the Minister requesting the immediate appointment of a minimum wage advisory board for the revision of the minimum wage, following, especially, the abortive attempt to have the minimum wage reviewed in 1997.

The Committee regrets that the Government has not so far taken any concrete action to follow up on the Committee’s recommendations. The participation of employers and workers concerned in equal numbers and on equal terms is an essential prerequisite for the functioning of a minimum wage system based on full and genuine consultations with the social partners as prescribed by the Convention. In addition, the Committee insists that the minimum wage has to maintain its purchasing power in relation to a basic basket of essential consumer goods if it is to serve a useful purpose in terms of social protection and poverty reduction. This, in turn, can only be attained by periodically revising minimum wage levels in the light of the evolving economic and social realities. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take appropriate action without further delay in order to bring the national law and practice into line with the provisions of the Convention.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2008.]