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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Madagascar (Ratification: 1960)

Article 3(2) of the Convention. Method of payment of wages. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Decree referred to in section 63 of the Labour Code of 2003 on the forms and procedures for the payment of wages has not yet been issued. The Committee would thank the Government for explaining what the Decree in question is expected to regulate (e.g. forms of non-cash payment by bank transfer or postal order, etc.) and to transmit a copy once it has been adopted.

Article 4. Partial payment of wages in kind. The Committee notes the Government’s clarification on the exceptional character of payment in kind in the form of decent housing and regular supply of foodstuffs for workers transferred outside their normal place of residence. It notes, in particular, that Order No. 2426-IGT of 1953 and Order No. 688-IGT of 1954, which fix the maximum amounts of food and housing allowances respectively by reference to the applicable minimum hourly wage rate in force, are still in effect. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate whether the above Orders continue to provide fair and reasonable levels for the board and lodging allowances or whether consideration should be given to other methods of calculating the cash value of benefits in kind, such as for instance the ordinary market value, or the cost price of the goods and services provided.

Article 6. Freedom of workers to dispose of their wages. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that there may be no express provision in the Labour Code prohibiting employers from limiting workers’ freedom to dispose of their wages, as prescribed by this Article of the Convention, but no problem has ever been reported in this respect. The Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 210 of its 2003 General Survey on the protection of wages in which it pointed out that “nothing short of an explicit legislative provision setting forth a general prohibition upon employers from limiting the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages in any form or manner, directly or indirectly, and not simply in respect of company stores, can be regarded as giving full effect to the requirements of the Convention [and that] other legislative measures, such as the exhaustive enumeration of authorized deductions, combined with an explicit provision by law are unlawful and without effect, may be deemed to give only partial effect to the obligation laid down in Article 6 of the Convention”. Moreover, in paragraph 510 of the same General Survey, the Committee emphasized that the mere fact that certain procedures or practices may not have given rise to complaints, or that certain practices which have to be controlled under the terms of the Convention do not exist or are unlikely to occur in some countries, does not absolve the governments of those countries from their obligation to give specific legislative provision to the standards set out in the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to consider introducing into the Labour Code at the next possible opportunity a specific provision implementing the requirement of this Article of the Convention.

Articles 8(2) and 10. Wage deductions and attachment of wages. In its previous comment, the Committee requested clarification on the manner in which workers are kept informed of the nature and extent of authorized deductions. The Committee also asked the Government to specify whether Decree No. 55-972 of 1955 fixing limits for the attachment and assignment of wages was still in force. In the absence of any reply in this regard, and while drawing the Government’s attention to paragraphs 294–297 of the above-referenced General Survey, the Committee wishes to renew its request for additional information on: (i) how workers are notified, before they enter employment or when the wage conditions applicable to them change, of all possible deductions to which their wages might be legally subject; and (ii) the legal text setting overall limits to permissible attachment by court decision and consequently also defining the unattachable part of the wage.

Part V of the report form.  The Committee notes that the Government refers to occasional difficulties involving the delayed payment of wages experienced in the private sector. The Committee understands that the problem of accumulated wage arrears have at times hindered the Government’s privatization policy, for instance in the case of the sugar industry. It would therefore appreciate if the Government would provide in its next report full particulars on the nature and scale of those difficulties, including the sectors and approximate number of workers affected, the average length of the delay in the payment of wages, and the measures taken to prevent and punish abusive pay practices.