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

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Malta (Ratification: 1988)

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wage for young persons. The Committee understands that young workers under 18 years of age are not entitled to the full adult minimum wage. Recalling that the practice of differentiated minimum wage rates on account of the workers’ age may under certain circumstances lead to situations that are contrary to the overriding principle of “equal remuneration for work of equal value”, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would clarify the reasons for maintaining a system of lower minimum wage rates for young persons under 18 years of age and also indicate whether any thought has been given to the possible need to review that policy in the light of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee refers in this respect to paragraph 176 of its 1992 General Survey on minimum wages in which it considered that the reasons that may have prompted the adoption of reduced minimum wage rates for workers on account of their age should be regularly re-examined in the light of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Articles 3 and 4. Machinery to determine and adjust minimum wages. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations concerning the National Standards Orders fixing the statutory minimum wage and the sectoral regulation orders establishing minimum pay levels for specific sectors of the economy, both issued by the Labour Minister on the recommendation of the tripartite Employment Relations Board. The Committee understands that the national minimum wage was last revised in 2006 and is now set at 59.63 lira (approximately 139 euros) per week. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would specify the national minimum wage rate currently in force and transmit a copy of the relevant National Standard Order. It would also appreciate receiving copies of any sectoral regulation orders presently in effect as well as sample copies of collective agreements containing clauses on minimum pay rates.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information contained in the Labour Force Survey for October to December 2007, especially the data on the age and sex distribution of the workforce and the gross average salary by economic activity. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide in future reports up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance the approximate number of workers remunerated at the minimum wage rate; data on the evolution of the minimum wage in recent years, as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the inflation rate in the same period; statistics on labour inspection results showing the number of visits carried out, violations recorded and sanctions imposed; and copies of official documents or studies on minimum wage policy, such as activity reports of the Employment Relations Board or economic surveys serving as a basis for relevant discussions.