Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

1. The Committee refers to its previous comments following the observations made by the United Trade Union Centre (UTUC) that in some cases the employers have taken cases relating to payment of minimum wages to the courts of law, with the result of withholding the benefit of the minimum wages to the concerned workers. It again requests the Government to supply the texts of decisions of courts of law involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention in accordance with point IV of the report form.

2. As concerns the comments previously made by the All India Organization of Employers (AIOE) that minimum wage fixing in the small-scale or household sectors like cottage industries has been counterproductive to employment generation and that more flexibility should be observed in this respect, the Committee recalls that Article 3, paragraph 2(1), of the Convention requires the consultation with representatives of the employers and workers concerned before the minimum wage-fixing machinery is applied in a trade or part of a trade, and that its paragraph 2(3) prohibits abatement of the fixed minimum rates of wages by individual agreement. The Committee would be grateful to the Government if it will include in future reports information on the application of these provisions.

3. As regards the contract workers employed by the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), the Committee noted the notification issued by the government of West Bengal dated 15 July 1989 prohibiting employment of contract labour in all SAIL stockyards at Calcutta and the government's indication that this notification has however been kept in abeyance due to the ad interim injunction issued by the Calcutta High Court. It asks again the Government to supply information on the application in practice of the minimum wage rates to the concerned workers.

4. The Committee again requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results of the application of the minimum wage-fixing machinery in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, including an indication of the approximate numbers of workers covered and the minimum rates of wages fixed.

5. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide information on the practical application of the Convention, for example, the results of inspection, the cases of violation observed and sanctions imposed in accordance with Article 4 and points III and V of the report form.