Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes that wages regulation orders were last issued in 2003 setting minimum pay rates for certain categories of workers, such as domestic, agricultural, hotel, industrial and security workers, as well as shop assistants and workers in offices of professionals. It also notes the Government’s indication that steps were taken to appoint new Wages Councils with a view to recommending increases in the minimum wages and identify other categories of workers for consideration. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would communicate up to date information on the proceedings and recommendations made by these wages councils and transmit copies of any new wages regulation orders which may have been issued.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would continue supplying all available information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, including, for instance, the minimum wage rates in force, the proportion of the workforce remunerated at the minimum pay rate, comparative statistics on the evolution of minimum wages and indicators such as the consumer price index in recent years, copies of collective agreements fixing minimum wages for specific sectors or branches of economic activity, inspection results showing the number of contraventions of the minimum wage legislation reported and sanctions imposed, copies of official documents or studies on minimum wage policy, 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 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 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.