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The Committee notes the detailed information provided in the Government’s report and the attached documents. It notes, in particular, the adoption of Executive Decree No. 7 of 10 March 2006 which fixes the new minimum hourly wage rates by region, economic sector and size of the enterprise. It also notes with interest the Government’s decision to establish for the first time a minimum monthly wage for public sector employees. The Committee understands that the minimum wage for the public sector was recommended by the National Minimum Wage Commission and is currently set at 300 balboa (approximately US$305) per month. The Committee would appreciate receiving a copy of the legal text establishing the new minimum wage for the public sector and requests the Government to provide additional explanations on the institutional framework within which the new minimum wage will be periodically reviewed and adjusted taking into account that the provisions of the Labour Code, including those on minimum wage fixing, do not apply to public employees.

Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information for the period 2003–06 concerning the percentage of the workforce remunerated at the minimum wage rate, the number of violations of the minimum wage legislation reported by the labour inspection services and the number of individual complaints filed with the General Labour Directorate of the Ministry of Labour. It also notes the activities of the National Minimum Wage Commission in the period 2005–06, including the technical study of January 2006 on the revision of the minimum wage. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide up to date information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, including, for instance, statistical information on the evolution of minimum pay rates as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the inflation rate, relevant extracts from labour inspection reports, copies of official documents such as activity reports of the National Minimum Wage Commission, etc.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body as regards the relevance of the Convention following the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). In fact, the Governing Body has decided that Convention No. 26 is among those instruments which may no longer be fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government should consider the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which contains certain improvements compared to older instruments on minimum wage fixing, for instance, as regards its broader scope of application, the requirement for a comprehensive minimum wage system, and the enumeration of the criteria for the determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee considers that the ratification of Convention No. 131 is all the more advisable as Panama has already set up a system of minimum wages of general application and its legislation appears to be substantially in conformity with the requirements of that Convention. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.