Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes with interest the detailed information provided in the Government’s report, in particular the adoption of Decrees Nos. 104/2005 and 105/2005 of 7 March 2005 and Decrees Nos. 138/2005 and 139/2005 of 19 April 2005, all of which relate to the reactivation of wage boards.

1. Minimum wage fixing system. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that wage boards – tripartite bodies envisaged under Act No. 10449 of 1943 – had meetings concerning the public, private and rural sectors, following the adoption of Decrees Nos. 104/2005 and 105/2005 of 7 March 2005, and have been active once again since 2 May 2005. These wage boards have different responsibilities, primarily the fixing of minimum wages by sector of activity, and the determination of occupational categories, but also the formation of sub-boards, inspections of enterprise accounts, participation in the application of laws, conciliation and the establishment of regulations concerning apprenticeship. It also notes that by virtue of Decree No. 170/006 of 8 June 2006, the national minimum wage currently stands at 3,000 pesos (approximately US$132) per month and that annual collective agreements have been concluded in the sectors of health (concerning approximately 35,000 workers), urban transport (approximately 15,000 workers), fisheries (approximately 1,000 workers), and meat packing (approximately 12,000 workers), in order to set minimum wages that are higher than the national minimum wage.

2. Consultation of the social partners. The Committee notes that Decree No. 104/2005 calls upon representative organizations of public servants to engage in bipartite negotiation to discuss a regulatory framework that will make collective bargaining possible in the state sphere and to negotiate wages and conditions for service in the field of public administration. It also notes that Decree No. 105/2005 invites the most representative organizations of employers and workers from the private sector to establish a higher tripartite council which will be, amongst other things, a forum for dialogue on all issues relating to minimum wage fixing. Lastly, the Committee notes that the representative organizations of employers and workers from the rural sector have also been invited to form a rural tripartite council – the functions and mandate of which were redefined in Decree No. 139/2005 of 19 April 2005 – so as to determine the basic criteria that will allow for the implementation and immediate functioning of wage boards in this sector.

The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this area and to provide, in its next report, general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for example, statistical data on the number and categories of workers covered by the legislation on the minimum wage; the minimum wage rates in force by sector of the economy and occupational category; copies of studies or inquiries on fluctuations in the economic and social indicators (such as the rate of inflation or the consumer price index) used as the basis for the adjustment of the minimum wage rate; extracts from the annual activity reports of the private sector higher tripartite council and of the rural tripartite council; inspection service reports containing information on the violations reported and the penalties imposed; and any other relevant information that would enable the Committee to assess the manner in which the Convention is applied in the country.