Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1998, publiée 87ème session CIT (1999)

1. Non-payment of wages. In its previous comment, with reference to the observation jointly made by the Union of the Technical Assistance and Rural Development Workers of the State of Minas Gerais (SINTER) and the Federation of Unions and Associations of Rural Development Workers of Brazil (FASER) concerning non-payment of wages by the Technical Assistance and Rural Development Enterprise (EMATER) of the State of Minas Gerais, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any further progress made towards the settlement of the amounts due to the remaining 56 ex-employees of EMATER in accordance with Article 12(2) of the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government's statement in reply that those last 56 workers' cases are still being examined by the judiciary and requests the Government to continue to supply information on any progress made in the settlement of outstanding amounts due, and also on measures taken or envisaged, if there are any, to ensure the application of the Convention in equivalent bodies in other states than Minas Gerais.

2. The Committee also notes the information supplied in the Government's report concerning legislative measures. In particular, Act No. 8860 of March 1994 amends section 458 of the Consolidated Labour Act (No. 5452 of 1 March 1943) concerning the payment of wages in the form of allowances in kind, by adding provisions which stipulate that the lodging and the food supplied as a part of wages should attain their intended purposes, and cannot exceed respectively 25 per cent and 20 per cent of the contractual wage. Act No. 9300 of 29 August 1996 adds to section 9 of Act No. 5889 of 8 June 1973 on rural labour a provision according to which the rural labourers' wage should not include the assignment by the employer of dwelling or goods for production aimed at their subsistence and that of their family when it is provided in the written contract and notified to the relevant union of rural workers.

The Committee notes that these legislative measures have bearing on the application of some provisions of the Convention such as: Article 4 (limitation and conditions of wage payment in kind) and Article 8 (conditions and limits of deductions from wages to be decided by legislation or collective agreement).

In its previous observations, with reference to its comments on Conventions Nos. 29 and 105, the Committee requested the Government to examine the situations also in the light of this Convention. It notes that the Government refers in the report to some provisions of the Consolidated Labour Act which give effect to the provisions of Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the Convention. The Committee points out however that the question is rather of the practical application than that of legislative provisions. It notes that the Government has supplied ample information with regard to Convention No. 29 including that on inspection. Noting the absence of such information regarding Convention No. 95, the Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on the application in practice of the national legislation giving effect to this Convention, including the two new Acts mentioned above, with particular reference to the situations in rural areas, and referring also to Articles 10 and 14 in addition to the above Articles of the Convention. It asks the Government to include information on any infringements of provisions on wage protection registered by the inspectors and the sanctions imposed in this regard.