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The Committee notes that, by virtue of Decree No. 2007-2079 of 14 August 2007, the minimum guaranteed inter-occupational wage (SMIG) was increased, as from 1 July 2007, to 239.8 dinars (approximately US$196) and 207.8 dinars (US$170) a month for 48- and 40-hour working weeks, respectively.

Article 1, paragraph 1, and Article 3, paragraph 2(3), of the Convention. Differentiated minimum wage on the basis of age. The Committee notes the explanations provided by the Government concerning the wage rates for young workers under the age of 18. These workers are generally apprentices and receive, by virtue of Decree No. 94-1600 of 18 July 1994, an allowance based on the percentage of the SMIG, which ranges between 30 and 80 per cent of the SMIG depending on the duration of their apprenticeship. The Government further states that young workers working at enterprises covered by collective agreements receive wages equal to or higher than the SMIG, and even in those enterprises to which no collective agreements apply, and therefore young workers would in principle be entitled to 85 per cent of the SMIG, wages equivalent to the SMIG are being paid as a matter of practice. The Committee wishes to recall that, with the exception of apprenticeship arrangements, a system of lower pay rates for young workers that is based on the assumption that these workers may under no circumstances perform work which is quantitatively and qualitatively equivalent to that of adult workers might be discriminatory in certain cases. It therefore hopes that the Government will continue to review the advisability of maintaining a policy of differentiated minimum wages on the basis of age in the light of the overriding principle of equal pay for work of equal value.

Article 4(1). Publicizing the minimum wage. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations, according to which the minimum wage rates in force are publicized in daily or weekly newspapers, and diffused through national or regional television and radio programmes, apart from being officially published in the Official Gazette. The Government also states that copies of collective agreements, including annexed wage scales, must be available, by virtue of section 31 of the Labour Code, at workplaces covered by those collective agreements.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the 2006 annual report of the Labour Inspectorate, according to which 5,910 wage-related offences were observed, including 980 regarding “insufficient wages”. It would appreciate if the Government would continue to provide all relevant information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, the minimum wage rates in force, the approximate number of workers remunerated at the SMIG rate, inspection results, copies of official studies relating to wage policy, statistics on the evolution of economic indicators such as the inflation rate as compared to the evolution of the SMIG in recent years, etc.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body on the continued relevance of the Convention based on 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 Conventions Nos 26 and 99 are 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 marks certain advances 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 requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.