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Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. Further to its previous observation, the Committee notes the Government’s explanations that confirm that no progress has been made either with respect to the promulgation of the decree fixing the guaranteed inter-occupational minimum wage (SMIG) at 35,000 KMF (approximately US$110) per month or as regards the reactivation of the Higher Council of Labour and Employment (CSTE). The Government indicates that the draft decree establishing the SMIG rate for the entire private sector, including agriculture, has not yet received the final approval of the President and that the Ministry of Labour is currently taking steps to successfully complete this process. The Government also indicates that tripartite consultations within the CSTE are expected to resume after the adoption of the revised Labour Code which, in turn, is scheduled to be discussed at the next ordinary session of the National Assembly. Regrettably, the Committee is once again obliged to observe that the Convention is presently not applied in either law or practice. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary action without further delay with a view to: (i) establishing and implementing the guaranteed inter-occupational minimum wage rate; and (ii) initiating tripartite consultations within the CSTE on its periodic review and adjustment. It also asks the Government to transmit a copy of the revised Labour Code as soon as it is adopted.

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 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 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 requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2010.]